


Qui vivra verra

by Narcissisticpeacock



Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: F/F, Leverage AU, M/M, Slow Burn, Trans Characters
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-05-02
Updated: 2017-10-03
Packaged: 2018-10-27 02:58:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 28,256
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10800267
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Narcissisticpeacock/pseuds/Narcissisticpeacock
Summary: Lena is part of a band of modern-day Robin Hoods. She's a thief and she's good at it. But taking down corrupt men makes her the enemy of many. What's there to do when you're framed for murder and your friends are in danger? Besides get help from the same French cop who's been tracking her for months.





	1. The Warehouse Job

**Author's Note:**

> Qui vivra verra. She who lives, shall see.

Lena bounced on the balls of her feet, only to cringe and regret that she'd done so. A sigh left her as she leaned against the wall, waiting for Angela to notice she was there. It took a few moments; the doctor was focused on the papers she held. After a moment, Angela glanced up.

"Lena! You surprised me. It's rather late for a visit, isn't it?" She stood up and gave her a once over. "Thought it doesn't seem this is just a friendly visit. You've seemed to hurt yourself again."

"Can't be here for help and a friendly visit? 'M always friendly towards you, love. Just need a check up. S'all." Lena gave her a lopsided grin.

Angela pinched the bridge of her nose and sighed. "How have you injured yourself this time?"

Rather than answer verbally, Lena shrugged off her jacket and tugged up the side of her tank top. Mottled blue and purple covered the length from her ribs and down to underneath the hem of her pants. Matching marks of lighter hue could be seen on her arm.

Angela swore and motioned to the examination table. "When did you do this?"

Lena shrugged. "Dunno... about, say, three this morning?"

Exasperation showed on every inch of Angela's face. "Why didn't you got to the emergency room? Or come to see me sooner?"

"Doc, you know I don't like big hospitals. And if I came in earlier, I coulda taken some other poor sap's spot in line. I've had worse." Lena pushed herself onto the table, wincing at the sudden bite of pain in her side.

""Herrgott... Past injuries don't have much to do with the risk of internal bleeding you have right now," she huffed. "Lie on your back."

Lena did so, gritting her teeth. Angela pressed a hand palm down onto her abdomen, feeling for irregularities. "Have you had abdominal pain?"

"Nope."

"Coughing up blood? Dizziness? Perhaps an earlier start to your monthly visitor?"

Lena frowned. "No, no, and you know I'm on the pill. Despite my preferences."

"Hmm," was the only answer she got. It took another thirty seconds or so, but Angela seemed Lena was not, in fact, bleeding internally.

"Up," the doctor ordered. "Did you hit your head? When you got hurt?"

"Nah."

"I need to take some x-rays. I'm certain you've broken at least one rib, judging by the swelling." She led the way out of the room and just down the hall. "Should I even ask how you've wounded yourself this time?

Lena thought back briefly on it. Her line had snagged on something, or maybe just snapped, making her drop the last seven or eight feet down. Onto a crate. She'd still snatched up what she'd come for, but the bruises had become visible within the hour. The pain was there the whole time. "Fell off a ladder," she lied. The less the doctor knew, the better.

Angela gave her a long stare. She knew, of course, that Lena was a thief. But they, as well as a few others in the business, had an agreement to keep quiet. Lena and her friends made large donations whenever Angela needed them. And often when she didn't. In return, they got free medical care from a doctor who had no real issue in keeping her knowledge from the police. Their donations kept her small clinic open and affordable in the low income area she had set up in.

"Perhaps you should be a bit more careful. Next time the ground might not be so forgiving."

Lena grinned. "Don't worry, Ang. I learned my lesson. I'll triple check the ladder is sturdy from now on." Translation: _I'll be even more meticulous with my rigging and make sure it can hold me._

"See to it."

They'd reached the room with the x-ray machine in it. Angela nodded towards the table beneath it. "Go lie on your back. I'll get it running."

Lena occupied the spot mentioned and took a deep breath. She'd probably be dead by now if it weren't for Angela. Dead, or in jail. Despite being as careufl as she could, Lena had enough screw ups to make her think on them. None had resulted in more than a broken bone or an injured tendon, but nevertheless.

Angela brought over the lead cover and placed it over the uninjured bits of Lena. "So how have you been? she asked. "It's been well over a month since I last saw you."

"Oh, I've been fine. Just decided to head back to my old stompin' grounds for a bit. London was rainy as always. Was gonna pop over to France for a bit, but Jack needed me back for some work."

She clicked her tongue. "That man never seems to rest. Though I did see him out buying flowers the other day."

Lena smiled. "Yeah, he's got some mystery man. Won't tell us who. I get the feeling Hana knows, but she's been keepin' it quiet."

"Haven't seen her for a while either. How is she?" Angela took an x-ray, paused, and took another. "Onto your side, please."

With a groan, Lena rolled onto her uninjured side, Angela shifted the cover and adjusted the machine as needed.

"Hana, is, well, being Hana. A new game came out, one she was waiting for. She's been cooped up playing."

Angela couldn't help but chuckle. "That certainly sounds like her. And what about Lúcio? I keep meaning to call him-- I've recieved many compliments on the music choice in the waiting room."

"I'll tell him you said so! He might still be up when I get back... er, depending on how bad I messed myself up."

"You've cracked a rib or two, if I'm guessing correctly. We'll know in a few minutes.

Lena heaved a sigh. "What'll I need to do to get patched up, doc?"

Angela didn't answer right away. She motioned to Lena that she could get up and continued to examine the images on her monitor. Lena made her way over and eyed them. "So what's wrong with me?"

The doctor snorted. "You've got a penchant for getting wounded while, well, working, and you're more stubborn than a mule. But your injuries are... look here. You've cracked three of your ribs. See here?" She indicated to specific points on each rib.

"Um, honestly, no. I don't really see any of it."

"Hm. Well, they seem rather small." She turned and looked LEna in the face. "Lena, dear, I'm going to tell you what I tell you everytime you get hurt: take it easy. Rest. No jobs until I okay you." She sighed. "For these injuries, you need to let them heal. Go home and stay there for a few days. Ice will drop the swelling around your ribs. Advil or ibeprofen will help too, both for pain and inflammation." Her expression became steely. "No straining yourself. No climbing, running, jumping... or any strenuous activity you might be tempted into with some pretty girl." Lena blushed. "It will take at least two weeks for you to be back in good shape. The bruises should be healed in the next eight days or so."

"So a week or so of being bored. Got it."

'Not a week. Two. A week until the pain is gone, but two until it's all healed. I'll need you back here then to get more x-rays."

Lena sighed and pursed her lips. "Alright then, Angie. I know you never charge me for these, but I'm gonna drop a donation in."

"It will be put to good use," Angela assured. Her thoughts suddenly changed. She stared at Lena for along moment, who squirmed under her scrutiny.

"Whatcha lookin' at, Ang?" Lena frowned, curious, but a bit worried.

"Why do you do it? Live with so much risk?" She seemed worried and distant. "You've got money now. Why not stop?"

Lena went to respond, but the good doctor continued.

"And whatever happened to that girl of yours? Emily. She was sweet. Anyone could tell you loved each other."

The thief looked away and shrugged, donning a sour smmile. "She was too good for me. Everyone could tell. Deserves better than being hitched to a gal who's no doubt got a future in a jail cell."

"She broke up with you," Angela satated, expecting that to be the answer.

"No." Her answer was quick, bitter, and just a little too sharp. She sighed. "No," she said softer this time. "She never knew I'm... what I am. I ended it 'cause I knew she wouldn't. She's gonna hate me and move on. Find some woman who'll treat her right. Be ready to give up everything for her. Me? I'm just a thief."

Angela's frown deepened. "You deserve better than that, Lena. There's more to you."

She gave a humourless chuckle, but ignored the statement. "As for the risk? Keeps me going. Reminds me that my heart is still going, despite the issues it used to have." She thumped her chest. "Steady heartbeat, if a bit fast."

"Adrenaline is one thing. There are ways to get it without teetering on the edge of self destruction." She had suggestions. Sky-diving, bungee jumping, various types of car races. Lena spoke up before she could voice them.

"Aw, come on. I'm not self destructive. I'd be in jail now if that was true. Or, well... dead. But I'm here. Got a heart beat and everything, like I said." Lena had a forced smile on. "I'm fine, Angie..."

The pause hung in the air long enough for both of them to know the real answer to that.

"I'm gonna head out, okay? Be safe getting home, doc." With that, she was out the door.

Angela sighed, but said no more.

_______________

Amélie was not happy. Her flight had been horrible-- turbulance, a crying baby, and just to top it off, some obnoxious, walrus-like man, had hit on her the whole flight. Times like that made her regret her decision to stop wearing her wedding ring. Despite her hurry, she'd notified airport security. As soon as they were off the flight, he'd been pulled to the side. Every inconvienence he'd suffer from the search made up for the crappy pick-up lines and disgusting inuendos.

What really made her angry was there had been no reason to travel so far at all. Flying out, finding out the trip was pointless, and then a horrible flight back. Originally, she'd been hopeful. Maybe the thief that she hunted would slip up. Leave a clue, a hint, evidence of any kind. Maybe even get caught. Instead, Amelie had been led on a wild goose chase around the UK, centering on London. Three museums hit, and a fourth that was practically gaurenteed to be next. She'd started to put a plan into motion to capture her little thief... When she got a call. The target was back in the states.

Amélie wasn't just unhappy. Amelie was furious.

Gabe greeting her with a smirk and a casual "how was your trip?' didn't help.

She huffed but gave no response. Slowly, she scanned the warehouse they stood in. It was organized; sleves were numbered, clear labels were on each container, and colour coating stated the origin. Some crates were dusty, having been there for quite a while. Ohters were stacked nearby, waiting for their new homes on shelves. One in particular caught her eye. The top bore obvious trauma. The side had cracked from pressure that had hit the top.

"That's the reason we got such an early warning," Gabe spoke up. "Guard heard her fall."

Amélie's eyes shot over to meet his. "And?"

"Congratulations, reina. You have your first eye witness." Gabe gave her a half grin. "Better than nothing, I guess."

"Where are they? Who questioned them?"

"They've been brought to the local police station. Their detective is the only one, so far. I thought you'd prefer to dothe honours."

She gave a sharp nod and moved closer to the dented box. A closer examination gave her no more useful information. There was nothing obvious missing in the vicinity, but there was likely something gone. Her little thief was unlikely to give up from a fall.

"The thief is lucky," Gabe spoke up. "Had that been a metal shipping container, she might still be there, but less lively than she might like." He patted his side. "She certainly didn't make it out of a fall like that without injury."

Amélie looked up. The ceiling was high above her. Metal rafters criss-crossed about. Scanning the edges, she spotted what she was looking for: vents. "What has been examined?" She didn't look away from the ceiling.

"Not up there. Haven't been able to find a sturdy enough ladder. One of their lifts should be hear soon."

A scoff. She had no time to waste. She'd already spent a week in Europe, where her thief had already left. She passed her coat to Gabe, but only after removing her phone. She slipped it in her back pocket and scaled up the shelving unit beside her. At the top, she was just over ten feet in the air. With the help of some of the storage there, she went higher still. The rafters were dusty and covered in bits of detritus that had likely been blown there or, in the case of the bugs, died there. Amélie couldn't help but allow the ghost of a smile to appear. It was only too easy to find where the burglar had been.

"You know," Gabe called up. "Sometimes I find it hard to believe you aren't the cat burglar."

Amélie ignored him. Her smile disappeared as she made her way to the spot above the fall. Not a speck of dust. It'd been wiped away to allow the girl to make her way down-- most likely using some sort of climbing rig. Amélie swore softly, but carefully removed her phone from her pocket. She'd take pictures. Maybe there was something there that she couldn't see until later. After a through amount, she looked closer, moving to the closest spot she could. Dug into some of the metal were scratches, as though some other metal object had been forced on-- or off-- of it. She took more picture of that. She'd have someone look over it again to see if there was any other metal traces left there.

Amélie moved on again. There were patches where the dust had been wiped away-- to wipe out the chance of footprints? Probably. She took a photo of each as a just in case, but nearly fell when she noticed something on the edge of one. There in the dust, accentuated by a dead housefly, was a partial shoe print. That, made her smile.

"Be careful up there," Gabe called. "I'd rather not have to get a crew to clean you off the floor."

Again, she ignored him. She might not have even heard him through her focus.

The trail led where Amélie knew it would: the vents. The cover had been haphazardly replaced. Not even the screws had been put back. Though she desperately wanted to, she refrained from removing it again. If the robber had been in a rush, no doubt due to the security guard, there could still be evidence there. She didn't have the proper equipment to do it, so she'd have to wait.

Amélie was in a better mood when she placed her feet back on the floor. "We need forensics up there. I found a partial shoe print and opportunities for more than that."

"You haven't even asked what she stole," her friend pointed out.

She blinked. "I... was distracted."

Gabe dug his phone out of his pocket and pulled up an image. "An idol of a hindu god. Skanda, I think." The image showed a golden idol just shy of the size of a gallon of milk. The figure was masculine and had multiple arms and many faces. "And get this... He's apparently a patron god of thieves."

Amélie frowned. "Non. She didn't take that."

Gabe nearly dropped his phone. "What."

"She didn't take that. That's what, twenty pounds? She was injured. She didn't take that."

A frown fixed itself on his face. "Why not? She's taken heavier in worse conditions."

A scoff. "We both know she's skillful enough to come prepared for what she's expecting, non? She was not expecting a fall." She gestured to the damaged crate. "After falling, whatever she grabbed would have had to allow her to climb back up despite injury. Given our estimates on her size, it's doubtful that she would take something so heavy with her."

A few choice swear words left Gabe's mouth. "I hate that you're making sense. But until we have proof, that's what she stole. I'll make sure the whole warehouse is checked for inventory."

"Bon." Amélie gazed about the warehouse once more. "How many museums store items here?"

"Most in Boston, as well as a few in nearby cities. I think the total is upwards of thirty. It's mostly artifacts and unused exhibits. Also older paperwork. Typically things like the Skanda figurine are in the higher security spot further in." He gestured to the side, indicating it was on the far side of the area. "It and it's friends weren't there yet due to a processing error. They arrived three days ago and the error was supposed to be rectified today."

Amélie pursed her lips. "That does make it seem as though it was done on purpose. If the thief has the skill to write the code for the cameras..."

"Thinking she hacked in to change the storage spot? Wouldn't be surprised. But that doesn't match up with your "she didn't steal it" theory." He shrugged. "And if you didn't know, we found traces of her virus in the system. No evidence of how she got it there, but it got the cameras off while she was here."

A scowl appeared on Amélie's face. Her thief was only tracked by these traces if code left in security systems. They were placed days, or possibly weeks in advance, and wormed their way in before killing camera feed or looping it for guards to watch. Once the job was clear, it seemed to erase itself--- anything useful was deleted. What was left was easily found, but wasn't in the least bit useful for identification. It was unique enough to connect seperate robberies and that was it.

"We need every possibility looked into. She's stolen millions of dollars in art and more." Amelie paused. "She's surely injured. Falling hard enough to damage the box... We should have people ask around at the nearby hospitals and clinics."

"Way ahead of you. I already thought of that."

"And?"

He shrugged. "Local police are spread thin as it is. Something about gang violence. We've got four officers helping us for it, but that's liable to change if they're needed elsewhere." He gave her a grin. "Ready to visit some hospitals, mi hermana? After speaking to that guard, of course."

She huffed, and gave a rather sarcastic response. "Oui, mon frère."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This story is inspired by Leverage! It can be found on Netflix and is worth a watch.
> 
> Thanks for reading!


	2. The Clinic Job

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trying something new! translations of non-english phrases will be in italics next to the phrase. If you think I could figure something better out, tell me! I'm open to ideas.

Jack rolled his shoulders. Stress had been building in them for the last few months, but the text from Angela had really made them tense. "Ask Lena about her injuries" was all it had said. Injuries? It'd been nearly forty-eight hours since Lena had started her job, and she hadn't contacted him about the results.

This girl was gonna kill him. That was it. He'd gotten attached to the team-- even McCree's cowboy ways, not that he'd admit it. And now some enigmatic text from the doctor they often worked with had him wondering what exactly had happened with Lena.

These kids were gonna kill him.

Jack slumped back on his couch. Lena was hurt, but alive. He had no idea whether or not she'd completed what he'd asked. He could work around it if she hadn't-- it'd just be harder. More work for Hana and Lucio, but they were capable.

His phone lit up twice in quick succession. A pair of text messages. One added to his stress, the other held some promise of stress relief.

Lena had finally gotten in contact. "Sorry for the wait! Be there within an hour or so!" He wanted to respond but thought better of it. He'd save it for in person.

The other text made him smile. A dinner invite from his boyfriend for that night. He had no other plans, so he responded with a rather eager message. One that his team would likely laugh over the tone of, but they wouldn't see it, so who cared?

The door burst open. Jack jumped, hand going for the rather heavy vase on the side table. He let go when he realized it was just Jesse.

"You know what? I'm done," he stated. He headed for the kitchen. The sound of Jack's liquor cabinet opening reached Jack.

"And what's wrong with you?"

Jesse reappeared with a glass of whiskey in his hand. "I got stood up. Met a guy on a dating app, we flirted a bit, made plans... and he didn't show." He collapsed onto the empty side of the couch. "It's ridiculous."

Jack sighed. "And you're here to tell me?"

"Lena hasn't texted me back, Lúcio said sorry but he's busy, and like hell would Hana listen to me gripe."

"So you come over here unannounced?"

Jesse shrugged and took a swig from his glass. "You've had issues before. Even if you've got your man now... Speaking of which, he got a younger brother?"

A snort in response. "Haven't met his family, but he's only ever mentioned a sister."

With a huff, Jesse frowned. "Not my thing." He took another drink. "Anyway. What's going on? Got any jobs in the works? I could use some activity."

Jack shrugged. "We'll see. Once Lena gets here, I'll know. Until then..." He shifted in his seat. "Gripe away. You've got an hour."

_______________

"So... how many left for today?" Gabe inquired, leaning back on the car.

Amélie counted under her breath, going down the list. "Un, deux... Trois. Three. Free clinics, it seems." _One, two, three._ She offered the list to him. "After that, rest. The Boston PD will continue with calls."

He typed something up on his phone before looking back to her. "Lead the way. What's this one called?"

"Hm... The Mercy Vale Free Clinic."

"Perhaps we'll find some trace of your thief, huh? Can always hope this is the one." He shoved his phone into his pocket and pushed off from the car. "More than what that security guy saw."

Amélie scowled. "Do not remind me. Barely a glimpse despite her mess up... Asleep on the job maybe?" She huffed. "No matter. She did not get out of that warehouse unharmed." She started off down the sidewalk, Gabe keeping in step beside her.

"What is it you always say? Neh voo z--"

"Ne vous en faites pas. Your french is atrocious. You should practice." _Don't worry about it._

"Practice your spanish."

"Como se dice je m'en fous en espanol?" _How do you say **I don't care** in Spanish?_

"Smart ass."

Amélie inclined her head towards the building they had ended up at. "We've arrived. Come."

They pushed open the doors to find a rather full clinic lobby. A mother held a sleeping child with a bandage on their forhead. Half a family sat to the side with some nonvisible reason for visit. A man held a bloody rag to his bleeding nose. Countless others were in the room, some in scrubs, others there for medical reasons.

Amélie and Gabe approached the desk. A young man with darker skin and a bald head was speaking to a young woman at the front of the line. He spoke to her, handed her some papers, and said a goodbye. She moved on.

Amélie stepped up.

The bald man have her a curious look. "How may I help you today?" He had a somewhat slow, but a very calm voice.

"I am Amélie Lacroix, this is my partner, Gabriel Reyes. We're currently working with local law enforcement and require assistance."

The man-- Amélie noted his name tag read "Zenyatta"-- nodded. "Let me get the owner. Would you mind waiting to the side?"

"Non. Take your time."

He headed off.

Gabe raised an eyebrow. "Take your time? Come on, you want to get out of here fast, same as I do."

She rolled her eyes but didn't answer. Instead, she watched Zenyatta head back. She could see down the hallway that led to treatment rooms and to where he had gone-- to a rather tall, blond woman. The owner, presumably. She had been speaking to a patient, but looked over to Zenyatta when he approached. He spoke to her, and her expression dropped from amiable to rather stony. She glanced up and met Amelie's eyes. Amelie inclined her head in greeting. The woman returned it. Amélie watched as she finished up with the patient and headed towards them.

"Officers. Welcome," the woman greeted. "I'm Doctor Angela Ziegler. I run this clinic." She offered a hand.

Amélie shook it, followed by Gabe. "Nice to meet you, doctor. I'm Amélie Lacroix. This is Gabriel Reyes. We're working with the Boston Police Department to catch a recent robbery suspect." They both showed their respective badges.

Angela tilted her head to the side, curious. "And what is it my clinic can help with?"

Gabe, frowned, sticking his hands in his pockets. "Perhaps we could talk somewhere... less public?"

The doctor nodded and motioned to the area behind the desk. "This way, then."

They followed her back, ending up in a room that seemed to be her office. There was a desk to the side with a desktop set up. There was a strange pencil holder shaped like an angel halo and wings. Beside that, a landline phone.

Angela took her spot behind the desk. She hadn't closed the door to the room.

"Now," she began. "What'd you need?"

"A suspect we've been tracking has recently taken something from a warehouse in the city." Amelie folded her arms. "In the process, she injured herself."

"Do you have specifics?"

"Her injuries would be consistent with a fall of up to ten feet. Likely severe bruising, perhaps a broken bone or some lacerations." Amélie shrugged. "We need records of any patients you've treated in the last forty eight hours with injuries from a fall-- whether or not they've told you it was from one."

Angela pursed her lips. "There's a few. But before I can release any records to you, I'll need to--"

The phone rang. The doctor looked to it, frowning. She sighed. "I'm sorry, I need to take this."

Both nodded and watched as she picked up the phone and answered. "Hello? Oh, hello, Charlotte, dear--" She stepped out of the room.

Gabe sighed. "Two more after this today?"

"Oui." She raised an eyebrow. "You seem to be in more of a rush than usual."

He shrugged and sat at the chair in front of the desk, across from the one the doctor had vacated. "I've got plans. What can I say?"

The doctor's voice was just outside, clearly audible. She seemed to be talking to a patient. "Yes, dear, that's right--"

"Hm. If you really want, I can continue on my own. Go, galavant around town. I can handle speaking to doctors." She smirked and gestured to the door. "Go on."

She got a scowl in response. "And here I thought you enjoyed being my partner."

"You really should take better care of yourself--" came the doctor's voice from outside the door.

"Ne vous en faites pas; you know I'm the only one who can stand you." _Don't worry about it._

He brushed the comment off with a grunt, once more giving attention to his phone.

"Will I ever be allowed to meet this man of yours?"

Gabe shrugged. "We've had talks-- Me meeting his, uh, family. Him meeting you. It's hard to explain the complications. I'll talk to him about it, yeah?" He rolled his shoulders.

The doctor returned to the room. "I apologize-- My niece was recently injured in a car accident and she calls me for advice and what-not." Angela took her seat at the desk. "Now. Let's get you two what you need, yes?"

_______________

Lena stirred. Something was making noise and pulling her out of her sleep. Alarm clock maybe? She felt for it. Slamming on the snooze button did nothing.

"C'mon, Lena. Gotta wake up."

Oh. A voice. So person, not clock. She rolled over, away from it, intending to bury herself in her blankets. Sharp pain shocked her awake. She let out a yelp and pushed herself up. She'd rolled directly onto her injured bits-- plenty to encourage her to open her eyes and push off her blankets.

"Whoa there. Easy."

She blinked the sleep from her eyes to see Lúcio standing next to her bed. "Wha issit? 'M sleepin'."

"Come on, girl. It's nearly noon. Not to mention you need to tell me exactly how you ended up hurt this bad." He crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow.

" 'ow'd you know?" She yawned.

Lúcio pursed his lips. "Lena, can you take a moment to think of exactly what your pajamas consist of? The ones I'm looking at right now?"

Lena rubbed her eyes with the meaty part of her palm. She'd gone to bed in a sports bra and some sweat pants. "Right. But, uh... Why'd you wake me up?"

"Like I said, it's almost noon. Get up and get some food. I made pancakes." He held his hand out.

"I mean... if there are pancakes..." She let him pull her out of bed. With a hiss, she coddled her injury. She ground her teeth as she figured how to hold her arm to lessen the pain.

"Lena, what'd you even do?" Lúcio asked, concerned.

"I, uh... Broke a few ribs. That's about it. I'll be fine in a week or so."

He gave her a long look. "Stop in with Angie?" She nodded. "I'm gonna check with her on that. You've been known to disregard her instructions."

She waved him off. "Aw, whatever. Why wouldn't I listen when it hurts a bunch?" She made a face. "More than a bunch, after leanin' on it."

Lúcio frowned, and lead the way back to the kitchen.

"Do we have any pain killers? Or do I need to pick some up today?"

He gave her a shrug. "I think we have some. But shouldn't you stay in and rest? I'm sure that was one of the things Angela said you should do."

Lena grabbed a plate from the cupboard and headed for the pile of pancakes on a plate beside the stove. "I gotta stop at Jack's today. Then, I promise, I'll park myself on the couch. But first I gotta bring Jack what he asked for. Maybe stop for pain killers? And Ice packs. Or so we have some?"

"Ice packs? Uh, yeah, actually. I use 'em in my lunch box. They're in the freezer."

"Great place for 'em, honestly."

Lena filled her plate and took a seat. Lucio sat with her.

"So how'd you get hurt? What happened?"

She told him.

A frown fixed itself on his face. "You doing alright? You don't usually make mistakes like that."

Lena waved the thought away with a lazy gesture. "Fine, thanks. Those are the odds, yeah? With how many jobs I've done, I was gonna mess up at somepoint. I'm just glad it didn't get me caught."

"You broke three ribs, Lena. Three."

"I'm fiiiine."

Lúcio sighed but gave her a grin. "We love you, Lena. We don't want you hurt."

Lena smiled wide. "Aren't I lucky? Well, I love you guys too."

"Oh crap, it's a quarter to one. I've gotta scram-- concert on the other side of the city at half past one. I wanna get a good spot."

"Have fun!"

"Stay safe."

He grabbed hisjacket and ran out the door.

She, on the other hand, finished her meal and changed clothes. A quick text to Jack and she could get going. If she could only find her jacket. Crap. She couldn't remember wearing it home the previous night.

"Crap..." She murmured. "Musta left it at the clinic..." She glanced at the clock. "Ang should be on lunch about now... She always takes it late." She dug her phone out of her pocket. The clinic, Angela's office in specific, was on speed dial. It didn't ring long.

"Hello?"

"Hiya, doc!"

"Oh, hello, Charlotte, dear. How are you?"

Charlotte? Who in bloody hell was that? "Uh. Ang; it's Lena."

"Yes, I know. And how is your mother?"

Lena was even more confused. She didn't have a mother. Mother figure, maybe, but no mother. "Okay, so you know it's me, I'm guessing...? Can you... not talk like it's me? is that it?"

"Mhm. Go on."

Jeez. All right. That meant someone there wasn't supposed to know she was on the phone. Her last job, she'd left behind more than she'd intended-- the box she fell on had broken. Pretty obvious she'd hurt herself. That crate had been hard _._  She knew there was a detective after her, but the woman had never gotten more than a glance of her. Not to mention the whole thing at the bar... Whatever.

"Ang, are there cops there?"

"Yes, dear. That's right. What else?"

"Uhm... Is it the bird that's been after me?"

"You'd have to be more specific, Charlotte. The medication has a few side effects."

Lena hummed. "Tall, pretty face, long hair? And A scowl that could kill."

Angela seemed to hesitate, but only for a moment. "Yes," was all she answered.

"Damn. Alright. I'll keep my distance from it, yeah? But Angela. Listen to me, okay? If they know I was there, tell them. Don't get in trouble for me. I can dodge it. But I want you to be safe." Lena fidgeted, clenching her fist. "Seriously, Ang. If they already know I was there, tell them."

"Ah, Charlotte. You know that wouldn't be necessary. But perhaps you should stop in a few days from now? Take care of your mother today."

Don't come in, but I'm not telling them. That seemed to be the translation.

"Angela. If they know, tell them. Only avoid it if they're going for general information. They haven't caught me yet."

Angela sighed. "You really should take better care of yourself."

Lena gave a humourless chuckle. "Right. Well, I was calling to tell you I forgot my jacket there. Set it aside for me? And text when I can stop by? Not today though."

"Certainly. See you later. Tell your mother I said hi."

Lena snorted. "Yeah, I'll do that. Bye, doc." She hung up.

After a short, frustrated yell, she turned to the door. What a fun set of days.

Whatever.

Time to head to Jack's.


	3. The Mystery Job

"Jack?" Lena spoke as she pushed open the door to Jack's apartment.

"Took you long enough." He was sitting in his living room on the couch. Jesse was there too, reclining back.

She shrugged. "Stopped at a grocer. Needed some ibeprofen." She pulled a small bottle from her pocket and shook it. Pills rattled around inside.

Jack stood and gave her a look. "And why would you need those?"

She hesitated. "Headache?" she tried with an uneasy grin.

The older man sighed and shook his head. "Lena... Angela told me you got hurt. I want details."

Jesse whistled. "Oooh, Lena's in trouble..."

"Jesse!" Jack spat. "Shut it. Let her talk."

Lena frowned, sighed, and walked further into the living room. While she wanted to collapse into the armchair, she sat down rather carefully. Her pain killers hadn't kicked in yet. Bruises were a bitch. "I, uh... got distracted on the job. Broke a couple of ribs... I'm basically a living bruise right now. Gotta take it easy for a bit."

A heavy sigh left Jack. "Lena..."

Her frown deepened. "I know, I know... I made a dumb mistake, I--"

"Lena," he cut her off. "You've barely been back and now--"

"I know! I'm risking the job. I--"

"Let me finish."

She pursed her lips, but didn't speak.

"I need to know I can count on you, okay? Lately you've been out of it. We've got a big job coming up. If I have to, I'll leave you out of it. Got it?" He gave her a stern look.

"Aw, come on! I'm fine, it was just one mistake. And the police are grasping at straws, as long as I lay low, that detective won't even know I haven't left town!" She accompanied the statement with some hand movements, only to grimace and gingerly return her arms to more comfortable positions. "I'm not using that kind of rig again, either. Only ones of my own design-- others don't make the cut."

"Wait, wait, wait... What detective?"

Well, she'd just walked herself into that one. "Ah... You know that bird I mentioned a while back? Detective working with interpol and who knows which countries? Been on my tail lately. She and her partner are checking hospitals around the city. They were at Angie's when I called earlier."

Jack was silent. He placed a hand to his chin, contemplating. "How's she been tracking you? It's been a while since you told me about her."

A vague hand gesture from Lena. "I mean... Hana and I have been trying to figure it out, but we haven't found anything yet."

The man seemed lost in thought. Jesse, however, had plenty to say.

"Alright, so... You managed to mess a job up so bad that some cop is ten minutes from breaking down your door?" He whistled. "Dunno how you managed that. Real grade a mess up there." The smirk on his face made Lena wanna punch him.

She made a face at him. "Least I haven't been sitting on my arse for a month and going on crappy dates."

Jesse opened his mouth to respond, only to close it again. The result was him gaping like a fish.

She grinned at him. "No come back? I hit a nerve?" A giggle left her. "Aw, poor Jesse!" She gave him a sympathetic look. "Been that bad for you?"

"Got stood up last night," he grumbled.

"Ang says I can't go out til I'm healed up, but I'm down to be your wingman once I can." Half a shrug. "If not, I've got a friend who's got a brother who's your type."

With a rather pathetic look, Jesse shrugged back. "Maybe I'll take you up on that. But I think I'll take a break for now. Jack said we're gonna take on a job soon."

"Yeah-- oh! That reminds me." She dug into her pocket and pulled out a thick bit of folded paper. She looked for Jack; he was pouring over his computer in the corner. "Ah, well. He sent me for these. Old files from some museum."

Jack was suddenly back beside them. He took the folded papers from her. "Did you do what I asked?"

"Throw 'em off? Yeah. Took some pretty little trinket and tucked it into some other box. Did it as fast as I could, but with my mess up... They're the right papers and it'll take a bit before they find what I hid." She hummed. "So what's my next part? Have anything else to steal?"

"Your next part is to get rest," Jack answered rather harshly. "Go home. Relax. Let your ribs heal. Angela would kill me if I let you go out again so soon." He scowled. "Not to mention... with that detective about, you need to lay low. So that's your next part: lay low and heal up."

Lena sighed and made a face at Jack. "Okay, daaad," she joked.

He stared at her; McCree chuckled. "I'm not your father."

"Closest thing I've got, so I'm allowed to say it to annoy you." She rolled her shoulders. "That's like... my right as an orphan."

"Oh!" Jesse spoke up. "Me too! I do too."

"You got adopted," Jack answered with another scowl.

Jesse raised his glass a bit in acknowledgment of the fact. "Not legally. And I was, what, seventeen at the time?" He took a sip of his drink. "I still retain my right to call you dad to annoy you. I didn't get one of those, anyway."

With a grumble, Jack moved back to his computer and unfolded the papers.

"So you gonna tell us what this job you're cooking up is? Who're we taking down?"

After a pause, the older man simply glanced back at them. "Give me a few days. I'm telling you all at once."

Lena and Jesse gave each other a long look, but didn't comment.

_______________

Gabe heard his front door open. "Babe? That you?"

"Yeah," came the answer. "Did you pick up something for dinner?"

He grinned and glanced at the coffee table in front of him. "You said you wanted something easy, right? I got pizza... Grab a couple of wine glasses from the kitchen while you're up? I forgot to grab them."

"Pizza and wine? Classy."

Gabe chuckled. "Good for de-stressing. And, ah... I'm sure I can help you de-stress in other ways."

Jack came round the corner with two wine glasses. "I hear you're in need of de-stressing too. How many hospitals did you visit today?" He set the glasses on the table and took a seat, leaning against Gabe.

"Hm," the detective responded, slinging an arm over Jack's shoulders. "I think we finished up at... fifteen? My partner could give you better exacts."

Cuddling a bit closer, Jack hummed. "This is as close as she's been to catching who she's been after, isn't it?"

"You know it." He heaved a sigh. Gabe snuck his hand up the back of Jack's shirt. "You're tense, babe. What's eating you?"

With a snort, Jack shifted. "Hopefully you will be, a bit later." The statement was followed by a shrug. "As for where my stress is coming from, you can blame those damn kids I work with... One, well... She got herself hurt." He rested his head on his boyfriend's shoulder. "She's okay, but out of commission for a few weeks."

Gabe shook his head in disbelief. "Do I really wanna know what she took from that warehouse?"

The was a very brief moment of silence. It was broken by a soft chuckle from Jack. "You're too smart, you know."

Almost lazily, Gabe dragged his fingernails down Jack's back. "I think I've always kind of known she was one of yours. Amélie would kill me if she knew I had a way to get to her." He withdrew his hand and sat up, nudging Jack off of him. "I don't know about you, but I'm hungry."

"What kind of pizza did you get us?"

"One pepperoni, the other is stuffed jalapeño."

Jack stared long at hard at the pizza being shown to him. "If you eat that, you're not going down on me tonight."

A frown appeared on Gabe's face. "Well, that's just not fair."

"You are not-- I repeat, not, setting every sensitive bit I've got down there on fire."

Gabe frowned. With a disappointed air, he moved the jalapeño topped pizza to the side. Later, he told himself. Later.

Jack grabbed a slice of pepperoni as Gabe poured the wine.

"You know..." the detective started. "You should meet my partner."

Jack snorted, mouth half full of pizza. "And here I thought I was your partner."

With a sigh, Gabe set down his wine glass. "You know what I mean. My work partner. She's family."

"Okay," came the answer. "When?"

He was struck speechless for a few long moments. "I... Didn't expect you to agree so quickly. I thought I'd have to convince you." They'd discussed it a few times. Various problems had always stopped their plans. The last time Jack had agreed to meet Amélie, Amélie had flown out on a last minute call half way across the world. Before that, it'd been Jack's nervousness. They hadn't tried to have Gabe meet Jack's crew yet-- too many variables and that pesky problem of them all being criminals.

"We've been together for a while," the mastermind pointed out. "And... Maybe our relationship will move forward..." His voice was a cautious mumble. "It'd be good for me to meet her. When do you want me too?"

Gabe held back his grin at what Jack was hinting at. Yes, they would take another step. He was certain.

"How about next week? I can make dinner here. Ropa vieja, maybe?"

Jack lowered the pizza slice he'd been about to bite into. "Old clothes?"

A shrug. "Shredded steak. My grandmother picked the recipe up somewhere."

"Ah." Jack took a bite of his food, using his moment to chew to think. Once he'd finished, he looked to Gabe. "You should meet my people too. But... It's gonna be a little more... difficult. First, I should probably tell them you're a cop."

A chuckle left Gabe. "Some warning would probably be good. Just let them know-- I know the basics of what you guys do, and I think it's worth it. Going around the red tape to help people who can't help themselves..."

Jack hummed in agreement as he finished off his pizza slice.

_______________

"Lena, move. You're making it hard to play." Hana did her best to nudge her friend to the side, but it didn't help much.

Lena sighed and sat up. She'd been mostly asleep, leaning on Hana as the Korean woman played. "'M sorry. Just tired."

"All you've done today is watch me play video games. I'm not even tired-- How're you?" She spared a glance in Lena's direction. The brunette definitely looked tired. Helped that she'd pulled a blanket up around her, more like a cocoon than a cover.

"Dunno. Maybe it's my body's way of telling me I was an idiot for getting hurt. Or maybe I got a concussion." She shrugged. "Whichever. Probably the first-- Ang woulda told me about the second."

Hana let out a thoughtful hum, which quickly turned annoyed as her character was subject to quick time events.

Lena had invited Hana over so she'd have company. They'd watched a couple crappy movies earlier and then switched to video games. Hana played, Lena watched. Mostly story driven stuff so the thief could get something out of it. They'd made their way through the end of Fatal Frame 2 from Hana's earlier progress (Lena was grateful when they beat it-- ghosts weren't her thing), and now they were making their way into some space game Lena couldn't remember the name of. All she knew was Hana had let her design their character and make the bigger choices. (She'd made a super cute chick who was definitely going to kiss that tall lizard lady, given the option.) Lena was never the type to be able to focus on her own with most video games, so having Hana hang out was a good chance for her to enjoy them. It was like interactive television.

Hana had already given her version of a lecture-- not as apparent as Lúcio's, but still good at guilting. Things like "what's the point of me taking care of security if you're just going to get caught?" and "so when is Jack hiring a better thief?". That one had hurt. But Lena knew it was just how Hana expressed worry.

"How the hell are you so cuddly when you're hurt anyway?" Hana huffed. "You and Lúcio just never stop with that crap."

Lena pursed her lips. "Cuddling is good. Makes me feel better when I feel shitty." She shifted, resting back again on the couch. "Bet you'd feel different if Satya wanted to cuddle," she teased.

Hana frowned, a light blush springing up on her cheeks. "Shut it... She's way out of my league and I doubt she's the cuddling type." She waved her hand, shooing the thought away. "And don't bug me about attractive women-- or men-- until you're dating one."

Lena yawned. "Yeah, yeah. Whatever." She watched Hana move the character behind cover before triggering something or other that made the character go invisible. "Oooh. That'd be nice to have. What was it?"

"Cloaking device. I'm doing a tech based character. Like an infiltrator. Means I can sneak around and--" Her character stabbed another with what looked like a shiv. "Kill them."

Lena frowned. "I mean. At least it's not bloody. That always freaks me out."

"You and your hemophobia."

Lena ignored the statement and watched the game continue. There was a few minutes of just gameplay-- dialogue, fighting, and various snarky comments-- before Hana spoke up again.

"Has Jack mentioned anything about the job he's planning? He's had me dig up some strange crap."

A shake of the head. "Nope. He had me grab some files from a decade ago out of an old warehouse. But besides that, wouldn't answer questions from Jesse or me."

Hana paused the game. She was frowning as she turned to Lena. "He worries me sometimes. But it's not as bad as it used to be."

A nod this time from Lena. "I get the feelings whatever he's got planning... It's big. Like when we took down Vishkar big."

A frown appeared on Hana's face. "We didn't take down Vishkar. We took down the CEO... and most of the people in charge. Satya's fixing it. She's already done a lot."

"Oh, you know what I meant. And yeah, she has. I'm glad we can trust her with it. She's a lot better than whats-his-face."

"Balakrishna Sodhi. Satya hires me when she needs background checks on newer employees to make sure there's no connection to him." Hana sighed and rolled her shoulders. "There haven't been any issues yet, but she's keeping her eye out."

Silence settled between them. Lena was lost in thought and Hana was focused on the game.

It'd been more than a year since they'd taken care of Sodhi and the others (who Lena would probably never remember the names of). They hadn't done many jobs since, and the ones they had done felt smaller. Simple stuff-- stop a contractor from illegally putting liens on houses, shutting down a company that had knowingly poisoned hundreds, and even helping an older middle class couple reclaim the art that had been taken from them. She was hoping Jack's new plan would be a bit more exciting. He was the mastermind, and often found them worthwhile jobs-- but they weren't always exciting. Some adrenaline filled stunts wouldn't come amiss.

_Or maybe they would,_ Lena's broken ribs protested.

Lena focused back in on the game. The character was no longer fighting, and instead was speaking to another alien.

"Oh, who's that?"

Hana sat back and rolled her shoulders. She tossed the controller into Lena's lap. "Feel free to find out. I'm gonna grab some snacks from the kitchen. Try not to destroy the galaxy."

"Uh... Can I actually do that? What sort of game is this?"

Hana just giggled to herself as she went for the kitchen.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> More story building, I guess. I promise big stuff will happen soon!  
> Also the "I'm not your father" voiceline of Soldier's? It's my favourite, I use it a lot.
> 
> Like always, thanks a ton for reading!


	4. The First Encounter Job

Amélie tapped her fingers on the tabletop, producing a soft _click, click, click_. She was irritated.

It had been a few days since the robbery of the warehouse and leads on a suspect were few. The warehouse was still being searched under her orders; she was certain her little thief had been after something else, that she hadn't taken that idol. If she was wrong, well... it was just was a waste of time and resources.

The list of fall victims from the hospitals was long, but was not as helpful as Amélie would have liked. More than half the list was elderly men and women who had fallen at home. Another fourth were too large to be the thief, too tall or heavy to fit in the vents. Many of the remaining were crossed off due to foot size; the shoe print she'd found had been at least that helpful. On the list, there was exactly one person who was a match for what they were looking for.

Amélie and Gabe had gone to meet them... only to find the poor boy was in a coma from his injuries. Certainly not the thief in question.

And now Amélie was seated in the corner of a quiet café with her notes splayed on the tabletop and a cup of white tea in her hand. She was looking over everything she had, hoping to spot something she'd missed or think of another way to track her thief.

Of course, nothing was coming to her.

Instead, she was becoming increasingly annoyed with her inability to catch the rogue. She only ever found pieces of the puzzle and never any that went together. They had the shoe print, yes, and the evidence of injury. Neither gave any further way to find the thief with what they already had; stored on various computers and even a USB, was the bits of code that had been left when the cameras were disabled. Each was different in the smallest of ways, but gave no true way to find their origin.

Amélie swore softly. She hated being bested, especially by some no good burglar who seemed to have nothing better to do than ruin her day.

Her thoughts were derailed as a plate was placed on her table. It held what seemed to be a chocolate chip muffin. She looked up to see the waitress that had originally taken her order.

Amélie gave the woman a questioning look. "I did not order--?"

The waitress smiled at her and shook her head. "On the house." After a second of hesitation, she winked at Amélie before swiftly turning to walk away.

Amélie was being flirted with. _Oh_.

"Oh, uh... merci beaucoup?" _Thank you very much?_

She watched the waitress go. She had dark skin and pretty, curly hair. Attractive, certainly.

Amélie turned back to her work, but still thought on it. Yes, the waitress was attractive. Gabe had been pestering her lately to "get back out there", as he said. Her last true date had been with Gérard. She, of course, occasionally gone out to satisfy more... carnal needs, but those weren't romance. Some hadn't even been all that enjoyable.

Ugh, romance. She'd almost forgotten. Gabe had invited her to dinner with his boyfriend. Finally.

Gabe was like family to her, an older brother who had her back. She didn't see her parents often due to her job, so it was nice to have someone who typically traveled with her. Meeting the man he loved was a positive. With Gabe, it typically meant he was head over heels for the man.

Absentmindedly, Amélie reached for the muffin.

As she ate, she looked over her papers once more. One of the papers contained a summary of the codes they had.

None of the computer techs she had access to had been able to find anything truly useful in them. The most they had was an effective way to tell where the thief had been-- not where she would be next. Whatever clues she actually needed seemed to be constantly hidden in the shadows, away from her.

Hm. Shadow.

Amélie had an option there, maybe. But she did not want to use a criminal to find a criminal. Sure, there was a chance for success there. But it seemed slim. How could she trust a criminal who seemed more a prankster with her own plans? There was no way to know if that _ombre_ girl knew her thief. What if they were friends? Amélie would surely be sent in the wrong direction.

She sighed and took the last bite of her pastry. A glance at her phone told her she needed to get ready for dinner.

Having already paid for the tea, she left a rather generous tip on the table. While she may not be interested in the waitress, she couldn't help but hope to brighten the woman's day with the gratuity.

Another glance at the time. If Amélie didn't hurry, she'd be late.

_______________

After a shower and a change of clothes (and makeup, and hair...), Amélie was able to make it to Gabe's on time.

Her knock was answered within seconds. "Hey," Gabe greeted, stepping back so she could enter. "Jack isn't here yet. He's running late."

She inhaled deeply. "What did you make? It smells delicious."

"Ropa vieja with peppers and rice. I've got tortillas too." He beckoned to the kitchen. "Help me set the table?"

She put on a fake frown. "Ah, and here I thought I was a guest."

He rolled his eyes and headed for the kitchen. "You're not a guest, you're family. Guests relax, family set the table."

"Oh? And what does you man do, hm? When he gets here?" She had followed him.

Gabe chuckled as he checked the pan on the stove. "Whatever he wants. He is bringing wine though. I told him to get something fruity. It should go well with dinner."

Amélie made a dismissive gesture and moved to the cupboard. As she did, they heard the door open. "Your mystery man?" she questioned as she reached for plates.

"Probably."

"Sorry I'm late," came the voice.

"As long as you're here," Gabe responded. "Come to the kitchen. Amélie is already here."

A moment or two later, Jack entered.

Amélie looked him over briefly. Of decent height, blonde and on the cusp of graying, probably around Gabe's age... Handsome, but not outlandishly so.

Jack offered his free hand. His other held a bottle of wine. "Nice to finally meet you," he greeted.

She shook the extended hand. "And you. I thought we might never meet."

He chuckled and rubbed the back of his head. "Sorry about that. It's been hard to find time for much lately."

"Do not worry. Work has been rather time consuming for me as well." She waved her hand, dismissing the reason.

Gabe was grinning ear to ear. "Dinner is done. Plates, hermana?"

Amélie scoffed but nodded. "Oui, oui."

"I'll grab glasses," Jack spoke up. "For the wine."

"Merci."

Ten minutes later, the three of them sat at the dinner table, enjoying the meal Gabe had prepared. The atmosphere was relaxed. It was mostly small talk, with Gabe as the go-between.

"Despite pestering, Gabriel has yet to tell me how you two met," Amélie mentioned. "Perhaps you could inform me?"

Jack nodded, letting his fork rest on his plate. "I don't mind."

He glanced at Gabe, who sighed. "Oh, fine. Go ahead."

A smirk appeared on Jack's face. "We met back when I was still a cop. Years ago. My department borrowed him for a case. We... didn't get along well."

"There's an understatement," Gabe muttered.

"We clashed. A lot. Arguments. I mean, we still solved the case but... definitely didn't do well. Basically swore not to do cases together again."

"I mean, we haven't."

Jack shushed him. "We met again more than a year later. Two or three. He didn't recognize me--"

"--I wonder why--"

"--Hush! Anyway. I thought it was funny he didn't. I bought him a drink, flirted... And then reminded him." Gabe snorted; Jack continued. "He was blown away and, well, a bit buzzed. Gave me his number. And lucky him, I kept it."

Amélie smiled. "I suppose second chances may be worth it, non?"

Gabe raised his wine glass briefly. "I'll drink to that."

There was a comfortable pause.

It was broken by a question, this time from Jack. "So, Amélie. Why'd you become a cop?"

There went the atmosphere.

Amélie paused, glancing over to Gabe who was studiously avoiding eye contact. She used the moment of silence while she chewed her food to think. Obviously Gabe hadn't mentioned it-- She was thankful for that, actually. It was a rather personal reason, but one she couldn't escape. Jack, however, was likely to stick around. He'd been with Gabe this long, hadn't he? They'd probably end up sickeningly sweet newlyweds in a few years time, and eventually become that couple that lived next door that was always showing up the rest of the block up.

Amélie let out a soft hum. "I joined after my husband was murdered. I wanted to... to do more. What is the phrase? Make a mark?"

Jack had gone a bit pale. He shot a look at Gabe, who was still very much keeping away from eye contact. "Oh, well, that's... My condolences."

"Merci pour votre gentillesse," she responded. _Thank you for your kindness._

After the event, after losing Gérard, she had heard similar lines constantly. In french, condolence meant something along the lines Jack intended, but often sounded more poetic. It implied the two suffered together over the horrible incident. To have strangers tell her they knew Gérard as she had once soured her mood, but it'd been years since she'd lost him. She'd learned to respond with thanks and move on. Besides, Jack was a good man. He was being polite when confronted with a rather awkward point of conversation.

Whether or not Jack knew french, Amélie didn't know. But she got the impression he'd understood what she said, even if only just.

"Ah, I am... used to such things being said. You did not know." She shrugged.

Gabe nodded, finally making eye contact again. "Yeah, Amé looks scary but she's quick to forgive."

"I... would not go that far. But," she gave Jack a soft look. "You make my partner happy, so I would not let my own pettiness sour that."

"I'll try to ask better questions..." Jack paused to think. "Gabe said you're hunting a thief?"

Amélie scoffed. "At this point it may as well be..." She fought to find the words in English. "Comment dites-vous... Wild goose chase?" _How do you say..._

"That bad?"

"After this week... There has been worse."

Jack gave her a questioning look, Gabe tried to hide a laugh.

"Soyez silencieux," Amélie muttered angrily. _Be quiet._

"Is there a story there..?" the blonde questioned.

A rough sigh left the woman. "Oui. But... it is rather embarrassing."

There was a mile wide grin on Gabe's face. Amélie rather liked the thought of a well placed punch on it.

"C'mon!" the man encouraged. "Tell him! It's a great story."

Amélie let out a rather long list of swear words, not only in french. "Fine. But no one, is allowed to make fun of me for this."

"Ah, who would?" Gabe motioned her on. "Start talking."

_______________

Amélie was tired and more than a bit cranky. Again, her thief had gotten the better of her. They'd left no trace, no hint at their identity, and had taken off with some pretty art piece that cost millions. Monet's "L’lle aux Orties" was far from its home.

Despite this, Amélie had decided, in no uncertain terms, "fuck it". Once that decision was made, she headed straight to the nearest bar. The fact it was a lesbian bar? Only helped. She had no interest in men with exaggerated egos propositioning her for their night's lay. At least, not at the moment. Sure, she might consider finding someone for a one night stand, but she was leaning much more towards a woman that night. If at all.

Honestly, all she wanted was a drink. Chicago was supposed to have good bars, right?

It was a week night, so the club was only half full. Dim lighting, not entirely terrible music, and the presence of alcohol... Perhaps Amélie could find some sort of stress relief that night. Drinking or otherwise.

She took a seat at the bar and motioned to the bartender. "Two parts vodka, one part peach schnapps, and some cranberry juice, si vous plait."

"Had a rough day, love?" came an English accented voice beside her. She looked over to see a slender woman smiling at her. She had a spattering of freckles across her cheeks, pretty brown eyes, and black framed glasses on. Her hair seemed to be a dark blue, or at least from what Amélie could see poking out from under a black beanie.

"Oui," Amélie responded. Small talk wasn't her forté, but this stranger was cute. "Rough day after a rough week."

The woman's sympathy was apparent in her expression. "Well, if it helps, I wouldn't mind buying your drink. Pretty bird like you should have some relief, yeah?"

Amélie hummed. Flirting, she was better with. Perhaps she didn't need to be there just for a drink.

"I would not stop you," she admitted, letting the slightest smile touch her lips.

The woman grinned. "So what's givin' you rough days, huh? Fight with the missus? Or mister. I don't judge."

Amélie shrugged, but didn't let the smile fall from her face. "Work."

"What sorta work do you do? You look like a dancer, love."

She let out a soft laugh. "Non. I have not danced for many years. I work with the police as a sort of... consultant."

The woman's face seemed to light up. "Ooh! A woman in uniform. Very nice." She bit her lip. "I bet you have all the bad guys runnin' in fear." She looked up and down Amélie's body. "Maybe towards you, though."

Hm. Perhaps Amélie would not be satisfied with just a drink tonight.

"Most run away, chère."

Another grin spread across the woman's lips. "You a tourist or did you move here? I don't meet many gals from Europe around here."

"I suppose I can ask you the same, no?" Amélie shrugged. "Work. It brings me places."

"No wonder it's rough." She leaned on the counter, still facing Amélie. "And, yeah, you could. I travel a lot. Never the same city for long. I like to keep moving." She motioned to the bartender, who refreshed her glass. "Ever been to new york? I love it there. The food is great, the girls are pretty..."

"Oui, I have. But I was not there for long. Work, as I said."

"Ah, you oughta head back for yourself. Broadway always has great shows, museums are lovely. And you can get great food at the right restaurants."

Amélie made a motion with her hand, waving the thought away. "It's rare for me to get a moment away from work. This," she gestured around her at the bar, "is the most I can afford."

The woman tapped her fingers on the counter. "Hm. Well, then I guess I'll have to buy you another drink, yeah?" She motioned to the bartender again.

Amélie smiled. "Merci beaucoup."

The woman set her own drink down and tugged her sleeve up her arm, showing a slim wristwatch. "Bollocks. Sorrry, love, but I've gotta scram. Was lovely talking to you!" She leaned over the counter and snagged a pen. On a napkin, she jotted something down, folded it, and handed it to Amélie. "Would be great to see you again, if you're in the city long!" She gave Amélie one last bright smile. "Bye!"

With that, she slapped money on the counter-- for the drinks, supposedly-- and disappeared out the door.

The departure was rather sudden, but Amélie still found a smile on her face. Faint, but there.

She pulled her phone from her pocket. She could add the woman's number--- she realized she hadn't gotten her name. Perhaps it'd be on the napkin.

With an optimistic air, she unfolded it.

_"Nearly got me, love! L’lle aux Orties is no Water Lilies, but I still like it! Enjoy the drinks!"_

It wasn't signed.

Amélie stared. It was more of a glare. Her grip on her glass seemed seconds from shattering it.

That damned thief! Amélie had talked to her, had flirted with her!

Amélie swore and slammed her glass on the counter. In an instant she was up and moving for the door. Maybe she was still in sight...

The light outside blinded her for a moment. When she could focus, the thief was no where in sight. There was a man across the street, some teenagers just outside.

A veritable waterfall of swears fell from her mouth.

Nothing could make her day worse.

Amélie was _pissed_.

_______________

Jack stared at her. He rubbed a hand down his face and then leaned on it, elbow on the table. "You mean to tell me... This thief just... walked up to you? And flirted with you?"

Amélie was scowling, but Jack could tell it wasn't at him. "Oui. And she disappeared." A sigh. "I did everything I could, but we got nothing but my vague description-- given to a sketch artist-- is all we really got. Even then... all we know is she is Caucasian and has brown eyes. Her body type too, I suppose."

Jack forced a light laugh. Inside, he was fuming at Lena for having done such a thing. But outside, he needed to continue his, well, not act, but his facade of calm.

Gabe, however, was failing to hide his genuine laughter. "I just..." he spoke through the laughter. "I just can't believe... She walked up to you! She bought you a goddamn drink!" He dissolved into gales of laughter once more.

"Be quiet!" Amélie hissed. "How was I to know?"

Jack sent a sympathetic look her way. "You weren't. It's... a little funny, I guess, but a stupid move on the girl's part. You've gotta be much more committed to finding her now, right?"

She nodded. "Of course. She must be caught. The fact I have a bit more reason to? Ah, what was it..." She faught to find the words. "Sweeten the pot?"

Finally quelling his laughter, Gabe grinned at her. "You enjoyed it. The flirting. She called you a pretty bird!"

"She was English! It is a term they use for women!"

"You called her chère! Dear! You called her dear!"

Amélie nearly snapped the stem of her wine glass. She looked to Jack. "I understand you may love this man, but I believe I have to kill him."

That made Jack laugh. "A cop killing a cop, huh? Does that make you better or worse than that thief?"

Amélie swore again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Man, I just love that tall bisexual Amelie.........
> 
> Oh, and Water Lillies is a very famous Monet, for those that don't know. Lena probably stole it too, at some point.
> 
> Thank you for reading!


	5. The Businessman Job, pt. 1

Lena pulled off her shirt and tossed it to the side. Staring in the mirror, she turned a bit so she could see her bruises. They had turned green, almost yellow, recently. Luckily for her, they didn't hurt so much anymore.

Her ribs were getting to that point too. After a week of sore and straight up painful nights, they'd slowly made their way to "fine, if left alone". As long as no one prodded at them too much, Lena's ribs wouldn't protest.

Lena sighed and ran a hand down her side. She'd be better next time. No more stupid mistakes.

Her eyes strayed up to her chest where her surgery scar showed. It ran from just below her collarbone to just before the end of her sternum.

At least her heart wasn't making stupid mistakes.

Well, not anymore.

Lena huffed another sigh and went to her dresser. She'd needed to change clothes for a reason, after all, she couldn't just dwell on the past all afternoon. Jack had called them in with a promise to give them a new job. And it was just after Angela giving Lena the go ahead to be active again! Finally, something to do.

She tossed on a new shirt and replaced her pajama pants with jeans. Each fit well: loose enough to move in without extra fabric that could catch. After years of existing as a thief, and a damn good one, she simply felt better this way.

Thoughts of a new job gave her the jitters. She was excited, rather than nervous, and couldn't wait to do what she did best: steal. Though, knowing Jack, she might have to do a few other things too. She wasn't much of a hitter, but she could handle herself when needed. Not a hacker at all, besides the little things Hana had taught her. Grift, maybe. Lúcio had worked with her a lot on it.

Grifting was a strange thing. Cops described it as petty swindling, but when Lúcio did it, it was an art. He had the gift of a silver tongue and quick wit. Lena had seen him get a whole company under his thumb with some well-said lines.

Before Lúcio's help, Lena hadn't understood different social cues, or how to really get what she wanted from others. After Lúcio, she could grift well enough to help the job. She had plenty of times now. And she hadn't even stabbed anyone during it.

Throwing on the jacket she'd gotten back from Angela, Lena headed out. Jack didn't live too far away; she liked the jog there. Kept her light and active.

Despite feeling the job Jack had planned would be big, she had no clue what it would be. They'd done some strange things in her time with the team, so she didn't want to underestimate by guessing. Vishkar had been their biggest success so far, but there were other corrupt companies out there. Or maybe it wouldn't be a company. Maybe they'd go after some mob or other. Jack was the sort of crazy to go for it.

Lena hummed under her breath, pausing at a crosswalk as she thought about that.

Yeah, Jack was crazy enough to go after people with guns. Jesse could handle it most of the time, but she didn't like the thought of him being overwhelmed. He could take down six guys on his own, but if they all had guns when he didn't... Well, hopefully, it wouldn't come to that. Taking down some mob or other wasn't likely to be on Jack's to-do list. It could be, yeah, but she didn't think he'd go for it.

Lena sprinted the last block and a half, ending up at the front of Jack's building. She glanced up. Jack lived on the third floor. She bounced on the balls of her feet before letting an impulse grab her.

The building had plenty of ornamental designs on the sides, providing nice handholds and footholds for Lena. She had conveniently "forgotten" she should still take it easy. Luckily for her, she reached the window to his apartment easily and without incident.

Jesse and Hana had already arrived when she slipped in the window and plopped on the couch. Hana was working intently on a tablet in her hands but acknowledged Lena with a short "hey".

Jesse, on the other hand, raised an eyebrow. "You do know this place has a door, right?"

Lena grinned. "Also has windows. Vents too, but the ones in this building are kinda small. I can fit, but nothin' here is worth the effort."

He rolled his eyes but didn't comment. Lena didn't miss the grin he tried to hide.

Jack walked around the corner then, a folder full of papers in hand. He paused when he saw her. Looked at the open window. Then back at her. Finally, he sighed. "Lena..."

She smiled. "What's up, Jack? Penny for your thoughts?" For the last week or so, it had been easier to annoy him, but she couldn't figure why. To her knowledge, she hadn't done anything big or dangerous that he'd disapprove of-- disregarding the whole warehouse incident. Even after that, he'd been fine. She just couldn't figure it out.

He shook his head and addressed them in general. "Where's Lúcio?"

"He stopped to pick up food," Hana spoke up. "He'll be here s--"

There was a knock at the door.

"Now. He'll be here now."

Lena sprung up from her seat and went to the door to help. Lúcio was on the other side, a few backs of takeout hanging off his arms. "I got food!" he announced. "Everybody's usuals."

Lena took some of it off him, leading the way to the kitchen. The others followed at the promise of food.

Ten minutes later, they were back in the living room with their respective plates.

Besides the typical seating, the living room also held three large flat screens, set up next to each other as displays. Jack only ever used one himself, but it was useful to have three for planning jobs and making sure everyone was on the same page.

Jack sat back in his chair, picking at his lo mein. He nodded to Hana. "Go ahead and run it."

She pursed her lips and gave him a look. "Fine. Guess I'll eat later." She set her plate aside on the closest available surface: Lena's lap. Lena had expected it and had accommodated just fine.

Hana picked up her tablet and turned on the display screens. Her tablet mirrored the screen of whichever screen she wanted, giving her full control on how everything appeared. She opened a file and let the picture come up. It was of an older, rather unpleasant man in a business suit.

"Alright. This is Charles Gabbart. He owns more than a hundred companies, and each one is full of bad dealings." She frowned as she pulled up different articles to show. "He doesn't pay taxes, doesn't treat any employees well... and currently has multiple charges of rape against him." Her frown turned into a scowl. "He's more than disgusting."

The others in the room had similar looks of dislike and more on their faces. "How are we taking him down?" Jesse asked. "Man like that should be rotting. In a jail or in a grave. Either works."

"I wish I'd said everything bad he's done," Hana responded. "But various companies under him-- ones nobody knows he owns-- have recently been found to be part of a sex trafficking ring." With a flick of her finger, she moved the photo of Gabbart aside and pulled up various articles and police reports from different companies. "There's evidence he knows about them. Worse than that, actually. But it's not out in the open and if it were to come to light..."

"He wouldn't go down for it," Jack finished. "I've had my eye on him for a while. It's only recently that I've found an opportunity for us to take him down. Not to mention, as of yesterday, he's in Boston."

Lúcio stared at the screen. "When do we start?"

Jack motioned towards Lena. "In a way, we already have. The papers I had Lena get a couple weeks ago? Step one."

Lena perked up, looking away from the screen. "What's next?"

Hana set her tablet aside and picked her plate back up.

"You and Lúcio are going to head into his office building," Jack answered.

"Alright," Lena chirped. "Got the blueprints? Office buildings usually have larger vents, since the buildings are so big."

The older man rolled his eyes. "You're heading in with aliases. Not through the vents. Hana?"

With a groan, Hana set her plate back on Lena's lap. With her mouth still full, she pulled up two IDs on the screen. One had an image of Lucío, the other of Lena.

"Lúcio," she spoke through her food. "You're Marco Fisher, senior internal auditor. Lena, you're Alana Ryder, Finance and Operations auditor. They're strong covers-- I mean, how could they NOT be when I made them?"

Jesse tapped his foot as he set aside his empty plate. "And what's my role?"

Jack looked to him. "You're going to be my second. We've got a way in, but I need a lackey. With any luck, you'll be the one to mislead him." He nodded to Hana, who pulled up another picture. Another man in a business suit, but with darker hair and a paler completion. "This, is Chadley Kabrich. He's Gabbart's second in command and the first person we need to take out to get to Gabbart."

"What's the play?" Jesse asked.

"Spanish Turnabout?" Lena suggested. "Some of those companies are in other countries. We can nail him at the airport."

Jack considered this, but only for a moment. "Now, that would work if he was the only target. But if we want Gabbart, we need something else. The Romanian Circus will work well here. Infighting will make them vulnerable. If we're lucky, we can take them down in a few weeks."

"And if we're not?" Lúcio queried with a frown.

Jack gave a shrug. "We chase him around a bit and systematically take him and his life apart."

"You know," Lena piped up. "You can be kinda scary sometimes."

_______________

"Com check," Hana spoke.

"Yep," Jesse responded.

"I read you," came Jack.

"Me too," Lena spoke up.

"Last but not least," was Lúcio.

Hana made an affirmative noise and tapped away at her keyboard. "Right. We're all set."

She was seated in the back of a van, the back loaded with computer equipment. Her main monitor was directly in front of her and read off the status of each com the crew had. They were all in the green, online, and functioning well.

"Alright... Looks like we're set. Jack?"

Everyone could hear his deep, slow intake of breath. "Let's go."

Hana pulled up the local map on another monitor. She could see the location of each of her friends. Lúcio and Lena were just entering the office building that Gabbart did business in. Just outside the building, Jack and Jesse were waiting. A third screen showed a three-dimensional layout of the building. Hallways, vents, and, most importantly, the security system. Two dots showed Lena and Lúcio's location.

For the most part, she'd let the security system run as intended. All she needed to do was ensure a couple blind spots existed so Lena and Lúcio wouldn't be recorded. It was simple and she didn't need to do any real work on it-- all she had to do was readjust the cameras. Her system didn't even have to touch it.

She heard Lúcio greet someone in the company. The person responded with an introduction.

Hana filled him in on who they were past the introduction, giving him ammo to work with. Lena, for the most part, stayed quiet. She was there to do what she did best and enjoyed the most: steal. With dash of framing. Lúcio was there to get her where she needed to be: Gabbart's office. From there, Lena could plant a few key files as well as give Hana complete access.

Hana watched as the bright dots that signified her friends moving into the building.

A message popped up on her original monitor. She gave a quick look over the team's status before opening it. It was from Satya.

Satya was typically quick and precise when she sent messages. Usually, it was only a few sentences-- three, maybe four. She'd give information on potential employees for background checks, or maybe a tip on potential marks. This time, there were two rather complete paragraphs.

Hana pursed her lips and read over the message. It was... a bit concerning if she was honest.

She and Satya had been in communication since the Vishkar Job, partly for business, partly for... well, not pleasure, per se. But friendship, certainly. Satya found it hard to make friends. Others had found her to be a "high maintenance" friend. As smart as she was, some social cues confused her or went completely undetected. Hana did her best to accommodate and they worked together to make sure both were provided for in the friendship. They weren't necessarily close friends, but they were friends.

Hana read through the message again, frowning now. Jack wasn't gonna like this.

"Hana. You there?" It was Lena speaking to her. She'd been trying to get the hacker's attention for the past minute or so.

"Ah, shit. Yeah, sorry."

"What are you doing, daydreaming?" The thief huffed. "I'm at his computer. Just tell me what to do."

Hana shifted, facing her third monitor. "Alright. Have that flash drive I gave you?"

"Yup."

"Plug it in. Then run the EXE file from it. From there, I can handle the rest."

"Uhh," Lena vocalized. "Is... that the one called "fuck it up" in all upper case?"

Jesse snickered, failing to keep it from reaching the coms. Both ignored him, for the most part. Hana turned his com down, temporarily. It'd turn itself back up in a couple minutes.

"That's the one," Hana affirmed. "Double click it and it'll run."

A brief pause. "Done. And it looks like it's done. Did it do what it needed to?"

Hana was already typing away at her computer, accessing Gabbart's desktop. "Babe, you see how the cursor is moving when you aren't doing anything? That's me."

"Sweet. Still, need me in the room?"

Hana glanced at her second monitor, where she had the security feed running. "Yeah. Just stay there for a minute."

Conversation from Jack and Jesse cut in as Jesse's earbud came back on. "I just don't see why I can't wear my boots," Jesse complained.

An audible sigh left Jack. "You're not a cowboy when you're using your cover."

"But it's my brand!"

Lena snorted. "You sound like a Shimada."

Another pause. "What in tarnation is a Shimada?"

"Not a what, a who--"

"Dr. Suess style?" Jesse cut in.

Hana could hear the oncoming scoff from Lena, but more pressing things called her to speak up. "Lena, get out of there. Gabbart is on his way in."

"Crap. What are my options?"

With a spin of her chair, Hana faced the blueprint. It only took her a second to find something suitable. "Vents. Back left corner of the room."

"Uhh... Got it! Was behind a... filing cabinet? Thing." There was some sound of movement. "I'm good. How's Lúcio?"

Hana turned his mic volume up a bit. "Yes, thank you, sir."

Another voice responded, but the words weren't clear.

Jack spoke up. "Alright, Lúcio, clear out. I need you out of the building before Jesse and I head in."

Lúcio made an affirmative noise but must've been in a place where he couldn't speak.

Hana watched as Lena's dot moved through the vents-- rather quickly, too. "Lena, take a left and you can come out in the women's restroom."

"Works for me."

"Lena, I need you out too. ASAP." Jack coughed. "Jesse, I need you to be ready."

"I'm standing right here, boss."

_______________

"I'm standing right here, boss."

Jack sighed and nodded towards the building. "Are you ready or not?"

"I most certainly am ready... Are you sure I can't wear my boots?"

Stress couldn't even cover how Jack had been feeling lately. "No. No boots. No hat. No cowboy. There are no horses in the office building." He rubbed his temples. "I'll, I'll buy you a horse after this, okay? Just, please."

"Jack, are you okay? Been kinda... high strung, lately," Lena spoke up. He could hear a sort of tinny echo behind her voice; she was probably still in the vents.

"I'm fine," he lied. _I'm still kinda pissed you walked up to the damn cop handling your case,_  was what he was really thinking.

"I'm on my way out," Lúcio mumbled.

"Then we're on our way in." Jack motioned to Jesse. "Hana, are we in the systems?"

"Yeah," came the answer. "Wayne P. Burke and Tyler Wells, there to see Gabbart."

"I'm Tyler?" Jesse mumbled. "Do I look like a Tyler to you?"

Hana huffed. "Go cry about it. Jack, they're ready for you. About two minutes before Lena is out."

"We're on it."

Jack headed in, followed closely by Jesse. They headed for the front desk. They passed Lúcio as they went, but didn't make eye contact. Jack made his way to the woman sitting at the desk.

"I'm Wayne P. Burke. This is my assistant, Tyler Wells. We've got a three o'clock with Gabbart." Jack's voice was gruff, and at least a little hostile.

"Id's?" the woman asked.

Jack smacked Jesse's arm. "Wells. You heard her."

Jesse did his part and grumbled, but handed her what she needed.

"Thank you, sirs." The woman gestured to some seats. "Someone will be along to bring you to his office shortly."

Jack sat down and pretended to busy on his phone. He'd occasionally bark a short order at Jesse who responded accordingly.

"How long is this gonna take?" Hana asked after fifteen minutes. "We've had faster room service at seedy hotels."

"Who knows," Jack answered quietly. "We just have to wait. Worse comes to worst, we do this later." He watched a rather shaky woman step off an elevator and head towards the woman at the front desk. They exchanged whispers before the first woman made her way back to the elevator. The woman at the desk glanced at them. He gave her a nod.

Jack frowned. Something was up. But whether something was wrong yet, he didn't know.

After another ten minutes, Hana spoke up again. "Jack, we've got a problem. Cops are on their way to the building. Cover might be blown."

Jack stood up. "My time is valuable," he announced angrily. "If Gabbart wants some sort of power play in keeping us waiting, he's not getting it."

The woman at the desk looked rather worried, but she didn't try to stop him.

"Wells! With me." Jack thanked his lucky stars that they had still been in the lobby. They were out of the door in the next thirty seconds and a block away in the next three minutes. Police and ambulance sirens played in the distance.

A van pulled up next to them and opened its doors. "Hop in!" Lena called from the driver's seat.

Jesse huffed. "I hate it when she drives."

"Come on," Jack ordered. "We need to regroup and find out what happened."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was gonna have a decent sized part with Amé too, but I've decided to save it for next time.  
> Brownie points to whoever finds the Overwatch Emergency Communication Channel reference (it's by ArcaneAdagio and is Very Good and funny.)
> 
> In the words of a Persona parody: who wants to talk about murder????!! :)


	6. The Businessman Job, pt. 2

Amélie was totally and completely perplexed. Nothing was missing from the warehouse. The entire inventory was accounted for. Not a single god damned trinket was missing. They found the golden idol shoved into a box on the top shelf. No prints on it, either.

Amélie was at her wit's end. Two weeks for nothing, except the confirmation that the idol hadn't been stolen. Still. she strongly doubted the thief had left with nothing. The rogue wasn't the type to give up.

Amélie swore. She had to be missing something.

She paced up and down her room, thinking hard. Every box had been opened, every expensive item examined. Nothing was missing. Everything was genuine. The thief hadn't exchanged a fake for the real thing; she hadn't taken the idol, or some vase or painting.

What the _hell_ was missing?

Amélie picked up the phone and dialled Gabe.

"Yeah?" came his gruff answer after a ring or two.

She raised an eyebrow. "I'm not interrupting anything, am I?"

A cough. "Not really. I paused my movie and Jack left this morning... Why?"

"I cannot find what I'm missing."

"Where'd you leave it last?"

"No, not like that. I got a call today." She let out a frustrated noise. "Nothing is missing from the warehouse."

Gabe hesitated. "Nothing?"

"Non. They found the Skanda idol. And all the other, ah bits and pieces? Of the other exhibits. They were left behind as well." Amélie continued to pace. "I am missing something but it's just out of reach."

A grunt from Gabe in response. "Maybe she didn't take anything. She probably got fucked up in the fall. You said she's pretty slim, right? Could've gotten really messed up. If I were her, I'd go for the exit, not for something to steal."

"I know how she works. She wouldn't let something nonlethal stop her," was Amélie's short reply. "She moved the idol. I'm _certain_ it is a distraction... Look over the evidence with me. Help me figure out what I am not seeing. S'il vous plait."

He sighed. "Alright. Come on over."

"Merci."

_______________

Gabe rubbed his temples. "You've put too much time into this."

Amélie scoffed. "I have caught others. I have not caught her."

He rolled his eyes. "You gotta get out more. I don't know. Go on a date or something. Make friends."

She brushed the comment off. "You are my friend." She spread the papers out and focused on the overhead blueprint of the warehouse. She'd drawn in the location of entry and where each bit of evidence had been found. "Now her entry was here, her descent was closer to the centre of the room, and her exit was back through the same. As for the idol of Skanda, it was found in a crate in this area."

"And nothing was missing?"

"Non. Not a single relic was taken."

Gabe frowned and rubbed his chin, staring at the blueprints. It was only a minute or so later that he slowly reached forward and tapped a group of squares. "Were these checked?"

Amélie gave him a curious look. "The filing cabinets? Non. They are in the process of being... converted... to computer..." She understood. "You think she took paperwork?"

He nodded. "It'd make sense. Information can be sold too. And if nothing else is gone..." A shrug. "You say you know how she works. Would that be a possibility?"

Amélie swore, grinned, and gave Gabe a kiss on the cheek. "Merci! She would most definitely do that sort of crime. I believe you have found what I missed." She took a deep breath. "I will call and have them search."

Her exclamation was interrupted by Gabe's cell phone going off. He took it out and motioned to her. "Make your call. I'll answer this." He stepped away and answered.

Amélie grabbed for her phone. If she was lucky, this would be the break she needed. If her thief had taken files, they could be used to track her, or maybe predict her next move. If everything went right... maybe she'd be brought to justice.

Amélie's thoughts of justice were derailed before she could even dial the number.

Gabe got her attention; he was frowning. Motioning to Amélie, he headed for the door. "C'mon. Work."

She mirrored his frown and followed. "Not another theft, is it?"

"Someone's been murdered."

_______________

Gabe stopped the car. He'd taken them to some business building in the centre of the city. He paused before getting out. "Hey, uh... you gonna be okay with this?"

Amélie had been halfway out the door. She sighed. He was referring to the murder scene. She had been the one to find Gérard's body. She still had nightmares. There was, of course, a reason she worked mostly with high profile theft.

"Oui. I can handle it."

"Tell me if that changes, yeah? You don't have to be in the room if you don't want to."

"I am not a child, Gabriel. I will be fine."

He nodded and they headed in.

The lobby was empty of all but officers and witnesses. There was a woman talking to an officer off to the side. She was seated but noticeably shaken. The one to discover the body, Amélie guessed. She felt more than sorry for the woman.

Gabe and Amélie were approached by a lone officer as they stepped through the doors. He had short brown hair and what was probably a sunny disposition if he wasn't investigating a murder.

"Hey. I'm Officer Dorey. You're the two we borrow, right?"

A nod from Gabe. "I'm Agent Reyes, this is my partner, Agent Lacroix."

"Nice to meet you."

They exchanged handshakes before Gabe asked, "So where's our vic? Have they been IDed?"

Dorey frowned and gestured towards the elevator. "He's upstairs. And anyone in the building could tell you who he is. Charles Gabbart."

Surprise showed on Gabe's face briefly. "The businessman in the centre of those lawsuits?"

"You nailed it."

"Then we have suspects," Amélie spoke up.

Dorey shrugged. "A list of 'em longer than my arm. The people suing him, the people who have charges against him, not to mention business rivals, protestors, and probably his own wife."

"Well... we'll deal with that later." Gabe started towards the elevator. "Let's check out the body."

After a trip up the elevator, they were led down a long hall and to a rather grisly scene. The office itself was rather extravagant; there were expensive decorations on the walls, small busts of men she didn't recognize, and one rather large stylized photo of a man who looked vaguely familiar. Actually, he looked like the dead man at the desk.

Blood had pooled on the desk and dripped down the front, and probably the back. Amélie couldn't see from her angle. The body was that of an older man, rather ugly in Amélie's opinion, and wearing a now stained suit. Most of his upper body was on the desk, bent half from his chair. his hands were covered in blood; he had probably tried to hold his throat and stop the bleeding. There had been no hope for him as soon as it had happened, though. There was an ugly gash under his neck, ear to ear. Blood covered his keyboard and everything else on his desk.

"Merde," Amélie mumbled.

"My thoughts exactly," Gabe responded.

She looked up to Dorey. "It's gruesome, yes, but is there a special reason you have asked us in on this?"

"The precinct thought it was a good move. With you two already in the area and Gabbart's high standing, Interpol's help on this should help keep things quieter."

Gabe nodded. "Right. I get it."

Amélie stalked slowly around the body. "Should I assume the body is rather... fresh?"

"He was last seen alive two hours ago."

Amélie crossed her arms, eyes moving to the room itself. Gabe spoke up, but she didn't pay attention. He was speaking to the officer anyway, it seemed.

She took slow steps around the room and looked for anything that seemed to stand out. The desk the body laid on was the worse. Bloodsoaked keyboard, trinkets knocked to and fro, and the very obvious pool of blood. There was a bit of a blood spray in front of the desk-- he'd been sitting when his throat was slit.

She turned away from the desk. As she'd noticed already, the room was rather lavish. There was an armchair by the window, a small closet... She pulled her sleeve up to cover her hand and opened the door. Office supplies; pens, paper... and a box of condoms. How quaint. There was enough room within for herself, or even Gabe if he squeezed. Anyone larger would have a hard time. If someone were to exit the closet, anyone at the desk might not notice... She closed the door.

Amélie turned around. The armchair had a small side table, complete with cabinet. It was rather off kilter. She stared for a moment. After a short contemplation, she nudged it back with her foot. A decent sized vent was behind it. The screws were loose.

As if coming out of a trance, she looked up, realizing Gabe and Dorey had been speaking. She interrupted.

"Have the security tapes been reviewed?"

Dorey was quick to answer. "They're... working on it."

She raised an eyebrow in question.

"Security cameras on this floor... malfunctioned. Probably malicious interference."

Amélie sighed. "You do not say. Dust for prints in the closet too, d'accord? A convenient hiding place." She looked to Gabe. "I need to look into that first. We will know more on this here once the body has been autopsied."

Gabe seemed rather quiet. There was a look on his face as though he was considering something that hadn't occurred to her yet.

"What?" she spoke aloud.

He shook his head. "Nothing." He glanced at Dorey. "Tapes already at the precinct?"

"Yup. Also, the men and women who work on this floor-- we asked them to tell us if they remember anything or anyone suspicious through here today."

A grunt in response from Gabe. He motioned to Amélie. "Let's go."

_______________

Gabe was still rather introspective when they got in the car. He didn't speak as he started them out towards the police station. Rather than pry at his thoughts, she turned the subject away from the murder.

"My mother called yesterday," she mentioned.

He seemed to start, as though he'd forgotten she was there. "Ah. How is she? And your father?"

"Bien. I intend to visit next month. After..." She trailed off.

Gabe tapped a finger on the steering wheel. "They visit him too, right?"

A soft hum prefaced her answer. "Oui. They do. They..." She sighed. "They were truly happy I had found someone so good. When he died, I lost my husband, and they lost a son." She leaned back in her seat. "I believe they count you as their third son now."

He shook his head. "No. I'm their second. You're their daughter and they know that."

Amélie let herself smile, but only barely. "I am lucky in that sense, no?" With a cross of her arms and a fairly dramatic sigh, she shrugged. "Perhaps I used all of my luck early. Perhaps that is why things have gone the way they have?"

"Chalking it all up to bad luck, huh?" Gabe chuckled. "I don't think you can "use up" luck. I think it's random."

"Oui, oui. But how could I have gotten supportive parents-- très bonne chance," she emphasized. _Very good luck._ "But... lose the love of my life? Absolument horrible chance." _Absolutely horrible luck_. She passed a hand over her eyes, wiping away the few tears that had formed. "And then this thief that eludes my grasp," Amélie continued. "It certainly does not count as good luck."

They pulled into the parking lot of the precinct.

Gabe hesitated. "I mean..." He seemed to consider his words rather carefully. "You'll get her," he finally conceded.

Another shrug. "Perhaps we focus on the murder for now, hm?" She gestured to the building. "Come. There is footage to be examined."

They made their way inside. Amélie's thoughts rested on Gabe. He was quieter than usual; even murder scenes didn't affect him this badly-- well, not those of seedy business men. Still, she didn't wish to pry. He was the type to tell her when he was ready.

Amélie and Gabe found themselves standing in a dimly lit room behind a man who was working on the footage. Amélie had met the man before, but she couldn't remember his name. Colin? Or maybe Frederick? Cooper? She had no idea.

"Hey, Allen," Gabe greeted. "Get anything good?"

Allen? Wow, she'd been wrong.

Allen shrugged. "I haven't gotten my teeth into it. The most we have is that there's... not much. The video was looped."

Amélie gave the screen a long look. "Be thorough when you check the system for tampering. The officer at the scene mentioned the... malfunction."

The man nodded. "Yeah. Jerry is actually running that now. We'll have the results to you in a bit. Maybe before you leave, if he works fast."

"Sounds good." Gabe motioned to the screen. "You've got all the security cameras from building, right? What have you seen of what wasn't fucked?"

Allen flipped through a few different screens. "I've watched the last hour before time of death on the floor it happened on. Like I said-- the footage is looped. It's gonna take longer to get through the rest, obviously. Especially since it's got more people and, well, did the job how it was supposed to. No tampering. That we've detected, anyway."

"Hm."

There was a pause, broken by Amélie speaking up. "Be sure to send us the results of system diagnostic. I want to start looking at the list of suspects." She turned to the door. "Gabe, you are welcome to join me."

He scoffed. "Like that wasn't an order. Let me call Jack and tell him I'll be home late."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I usually rewatch Leverage when I write, but this chapter I watched a youtube playlist of Murder.
> 
> I'd say... Two chapters until Amé and Lena meet? Again. Three tops.


	7. The Frame Up Job

"Well, that went tits up fast," Lena commented. "Anyone know what happened?"

"Give me a minute," Hana responded. She sounded serious. She was focused intently on her monitors as she pulled her ear bud and slipped on headphones.

"If we're blown, we're blown." Jack watched Hana work. "We can find another way in another time."

"Still feels like a loss though..." came a mumble from the passenger's seat. Lucío was leaning to look into the back.

Jesse was seated on the floor in the back. The car made a swift turn down a side street. He grabbed for the handle on the side. "Dammit, Lena!

Jack tapped his foot on the floor of the van. He was staring off at nothing, thinking. He already knew getting his team out was a good choice. Four unknowns as witnesses to whatever might've happened? Too easy to make a witness into a suspect.

"Hey," Hana spoke up, effectively capturing everyone's attention. "Listen to this."

She had unplugged her headphones, allowing the others in the car to hear what she had. A couple seconds of radio static was heard before a voice announced "Available units respond, possible 187. Repeat, possible code 187." She fast forwarded it a bit. The next voice was different, most likely a cop on site. "10-45D. DOA."

Jack frowned. "One eighty-seven is homicide... and that second part. Dead on arrival." His head snapped up to look at Hana. "Is there anything else?"

With a shake of her head, Hana turned back to the monitors. "Nope. But I'm doing what I can."

Lena pulled the van into their usual parking garage. "So... what's our next play?"

Jack opened the van door. "No idea."

Lena and Jesse shared a confused look. Lucio hopped out and followed. "Did you actually just say that? Hopefully, someone was recording."

Hana switched her headphones to a laptop and scooped it up to head in. She and the others followed Lucío.

"I don't know because I don't know what happened." Jack shoved his hands in his pockets. "I'm gonna make some calls while Hana digs up what she can. Gabbart needs to be taken down."

"I mean... if he's dead, that counts, right?" Lena asked.

A snort from Jessie. "I'd say it does."

"A hundred people work in that building," Lucío commented. "Probability is its some poor sap who got in an argument. Someone got angry, impulses weren't controlled and... man slaughter."

As soon as they got inside Jack's, Hana isolated herself with the computer to keep digging. The others looked to Jack.

He sighed. "If you have sources that can help, ask around a bit. If you don't, relax for a bit. Hana will figure out what we need. And I've got my own people to call." Rather than answer the questions they surely had, he broke off and went to his desk.

He did, in fact, have people to call. He wanted Gabe to be the first, but he tried to keep the man from most of the crew's work. It was better on both sides. Gabe didn't end up knowing too much-- which could get him in trouble if the truth came out. And the team didn't have to think about a cop knowing their business.

At least, not until they got to meet him.

Jack frowned. _Hm. I want them to meet him,_ came the thought. _But after this, who knows how long it'll be._

He picked up his phone and dialed an old friend from his days as a police officer. After a rather long chat, he came back with nothing but a promise to be contacted if more was found out. Next, he called up a grifter he'd put away nearly a decade previous. Another long chat. Another dead end.

When he hung up, he found a missed call from Gabe, followed by a text. "Probably won't be back til late tonight. If you're still down to come over, that is."

Jack smiled a bit and responded. "Of course."

Two hours passed filled with more calls to old friends and the like. It'd probably be another hour more before he found someone who could get him information on what exactly was going on. He was looking for anything that might help. But mainly a name. He wanted answers.

"Oi! Jack!" Lena called, interrupting his thoughts. "Got anything good?"

"No," he answered gruffly.

"Ah, well, you hungry? Jesse says he'll make omelets!"

Jack sighed and shook his head. "I'm fine. I'm gonna make a couple more calls."

"Alright. Let us know if you want one!"

Rubbing a hand down his face, Jack picked up his phone again. Before he could dial the first digit, it rang. The caller ID told him it was Gabe. Surprised, he answered. "Hey, Gabe."

"Jack?" Gabe sounded serious but worried.

"Yeah. What's going on?" Gabe would be able to find out everything Jack needed, but he wasn't willing to risk it.

"Babe, I need you to trust me."

"Always. Now, what's wrong?"

Gabe sighed. "Hopefully, nothing yet. I mean-- well. I need to know something." He took a deep breath. "I know we don't pry into each other's work, that we trust each other to make the right decisions, I just... a couple days ago, during dinner. You mentioned you'd be busy on a big job, right?"

"Yes. Why?" Jack could hear the frown in his voice.

"Who were you gonna take down? What was the job?"

Jack hesitated. He never told Gabe things like that. They kept work at work. "Well... do you know who Charles Gabbart is?"

Gabe uttered a sharp curse. "Yeah. Yeah, I know who he is. I just saw his dead body."

"Shit. What happened?" Guess that answered who the call was about.

The agent remained silent for a few moments before sighing. "Someone killed him. Slit his throat, Sweeney Todd style." Another pause. "You started the job today?"

"This morning. I pulled the plug because things felt... off. Thought we were blown."

"The people on your team. Did anyone make it past the lobby?"

Jack frowned and turned to look where the others were. Lena was sitting with her legs dangling off the counter, Lucío was leaning back against it, and Jesse had started on the omelets. His eyes lingered on Lena. She'd been the farthest in.

"Yes," he admitted. "We got someone in his office."

"Who?"

"Gabe." The name was said with a slight warning. "I can't--"

"Was it your thief? I need to know. Don't give me her name, but please."

Jack frowned, looked away from his crew, and ground his teeth together. "Tell me why. I need to know that before I can tell you who."

"Amélie recognized her. Some worker had left their laptop running with their Webcam recording... Amélie is pissed." He made an annoyed noise. "The body--- It was found in the office. Was your thief the one in there?"

Jack swore. Then swore again. "Yes."

More soft curses came through the phone. "Listen. I need the truth, Jack. I trust you, but I don't know your thief. Would she be capable of murder?"

The mastermind found himself hesitating. He looked back over at the crew. Lena had hopped off the counter and was pestering McCree about the food he was cooking. She seemed none the worse for wear. He was certain something as changing as murder would have put a dent in her usual attitude. He knew she'd never killed before. But capable of it? Yes. If she saw a wrong that couldn't be solved conventionally, then yes, he could see her as capable. But at the same time... Lena had changed a lot since he had first met her. She had once been wild and unruly and a good deal unpredictable. But that had been years ago. The crew had been good to her. There had been rough patches, but she had calmed down a lot. Less prone to violence (despite what Jesse had taught her), and more prone to thought. Working in this way, stealing to help people, that was her niche.

"No," he answered. "She's not."

Gabe took in a deep breath, held it, and let it out. "Okay. Okay." He grumbled. "Jack, you need to keep her close. Amélie... she's sure your kid was involved somehow. And she's stubborn, you know that. That thief needs to be careful."

"You're telling me." He tapped his fingers on his desk. "Any chance you can help any with Amélie? Do you think she'd handle knowing what I do?"

"I'm not sure. I trust her, but she's had a rather one track mind. At least, lately." Another irritated noise. "I don't know. If I think we can tell her, I'll call, but... she and I need to look over the security system. Please, _please_ tell me your team didn't leave anything behind there."

"My hacker said she didn't do anything but move the cameras. No messing with the system."

"Good. Less for Amélie to find. Hopefully, we can find out who really killed the bastard."

A few seconds of silence between them.

"Keep me up to date on what you can, okay?" Jack spoke, toning it as more of a question than a request.

"Yes. Definitely. And keep that girl on a short leash." He sighed. "I love you."

"I love you too. Be safe."

They hung up.

Jack, filled with foreboding and a sense of purpose, stood from his desk and moved to the kitchen. He grabbed their attention by clearing his throat. "Alright. Is Hana still working on digging up info?" He had already formulated what needed to be done for now. His team's safety was first priority.

"Yeah. Need one of to get her?" Lucío bounced on the balls of his feet.

A short nod from the older man. "Yes."

"On it."

Jack was left with Lena and Jesse.

"What's going on?" Lena asked. "Did one of your people tell you what's up?"

Another nod. "I need the whole team so we can get a plan of action. Things have changed."

"So, what, we aren't goin' after Gabbart anymore?" Jesse spoke up.

"Gabbart is dead."

"Well. Shit."

Jack waved him off. "That doesn't matter anymore."

"What's happening?" Hana asked as she appeared with Lucio. "The old guy kicked the bucket?"

"Murdered. Throat slit. But that's only part of why we need to talk." Jack rolled his shoulders. "For the next two months, we lay low. Especially you." He pointed at Lena.

"What? What'd I do?" she complained.

"You were in his office-- that's where the body was found." He frowned. "If someone saw you go in, you're in trouble. Especially since no one saw you come out."

Lena deflated a bit and grumbled. "Yeah, yeah..."

"Okay. Here's what we need to do. Hana, get Lena a fake ID and a ticket back to the UK. Then stagger out tickets for the rest of you. Make mine last."

A sigh escaped Jesse. "Can't we go somewhere fun? I'd be down for Mexico. Everyone can brush up on their Spanish."

"No. We've got more safe houses in Europe, more access to what we need." Jack looked back to Hana. "Make sure Lena's out by next week. Until then, Lena, I need you to stay inside. No bar hopping, no runs through the park. The city may be big but if they find out you were there, someone will recognize you."

"Why're all of us going?" Lucio asked. "Not that I have a problem with it. But you usually have us all split up for a bit with stuff like this."

"Hm. This is... This is a little different. I know someone involved with the case. I trust him, but if something goes sour on his end and he can't control it, I want you all untouchable." He shrugged. "It's not like we can't find a few jobs over there. I have one or two people to look at."

Hana leaned against the counter and crossed her arms. "That all?"

"You seem pretty nonchalant about this," Jesse interjected.

She shrugged. "I don't have a real issue with travel. I was gonna take a trip to Italy after this job anyway. Satya hired me to set up the systems of the new Vishkar branch." She cracked her knuckles. "Italy is like a train ride away from the UK."

Jack harrumphed. "No, Hana. There's nothing else right now. But get that done as soon as you can."

"Got it."

Jack looked over the four. A hacker only just out of her teens, a thief with impulse issues, a hitter with a penchant for anything cowboy, and a grifter that should've been a pop star. And they were the best team he could have.

"Alright, team. Remember: lay low. Other than that, we're good."

_______________

Amélie sat staring at a computer screen, frowning. She was tempted to beat her head against the wall, or find some criminal and break every bone in their body. Her thief had been captured on video. Finally. But rather than at a museum or vault, it was in a building on the same floor as the murder of a billionaire.

Amélie kind of wanted to scream.

It had been a coincidence that her thief had been recorded. The police had requested that should anyone remember anything suspicious for the day, they speak up. Of course, the typical pointless information had been given, but one employee had captured something with his webcam. He'd accidentally left it running after, apparently, taking oral notes on his project. It had captured a woman that no one in the department recognized.

Amélie knew who she was right away. A few things had changed, of course, but this was most definitely her thief. Her hair was brown now, not blue; she no longer wore glasses and had donned a well fitting business suit. But it was her.

Months and months of tracking a thief and pure dumb luck had led to her biggest break. Just because some employee had forgotten to close his laptop. Part of her hated it, part of her was simply glad it happened. Perhaps she could finally catch the girl. Focusing on the murder would undoubtedly be a better lead than the paperwork in the warehouse.

Now the murder, that was what surprised her. Never in the time she had been chasing the rogue had someone been hurt. Amelie's pride had been hurt, of course. And the thief had, apparently, hurt herself. But she hadn't done anything but steal paintings. Amelie couldn't help but wonder what had changed. Did stealing art no longer pay the bills?

No matter. If the thief had stepped up her game, she'd be easier to catch.

Amelie shut her laptop and stood up rather suddenly. She needed to visit the gym.

By the time she'd gotten there, it was rather late. Not many people frequented the gym after ten; it was mostly people who could only find time at night. She changed into gym clothes and claimed a treadmill in the corner. Throw in a pair of headphones and she could run for the next hour. Maybe she'd drop some stress.

It was almost difficult to believe she'd been in Boston as long as she had. She was used to moving around, following either the woman she was after now or some other criminal who jumped countries. Her record wasn't perfect, but the biggest mark on it was the crook turned murderer. She despised those who could take an innocent human life for money.

But then again, Gabbart had been a festering pile of shit, according to what she'd heard. At least it was no big loss to humanity.

Amelie took a deep breath. She missed Gerard. Next month would be his birthday. She already had a ticket back to Annecy. She'd stay with her parents for a few days and bring some flowers to his grave. Stop in at the cafe she always did and order a mille-feuille. The people there had recognized the last two times. It would probably happen again.

She increased the speed on the treadmill.

It'd been a while since Gabe had joined her for a visit to her parents. He traveled with her often enough, but they didn't have many stops in France. Her parents had taken him in almost as soon as they met him. Most recently, she'd mentioned his attachment to Jack. Of course, they badly wanted to meet him. Perhaps Amelie could convince him their way soon. Perhaps not on Gerard's birthday, but later on in the year.

Amelie stepped onto the sides of the treadmill, pausing to change her music selection. She kept jumping back and forth between fast paced music fit for running and relaxing music that might ease her down a bit. After a moment, she started running again.

Jack seemed nice enough. He was definitely a good fit with Gabe. They hadn't talked too much, but he didn't take any shit, that was clear. With a person like Gabriel Reyes, that was a priceless skill. She was lucky she had it herself, or the man might've made her insane.

Her music cut off, blaring her ringtone in her headphones. "Merde," she muttered, ripping the headphones out. The number was from the precinct. She sighed and answered. "Oui?"

"Lacroix? It's Allen."

Ah. The man who was running checks on security and the captured tapes.

"Yes, and?" She slowed the treadmill to a walk.

"Well, we didn't get the results before you left, but I have them now." He paused. "We found some... fishy code? Something that doesn't match up."

"Unsurprising. It's common, considering our current suspect."

"I'll have it all set aside for you to check in the morning."

"Non. I will be in shortly."

"Really? Haven't you worked all day?"

"Hmph. I have been tracking the suspect for a long while." She sighed. "I prefer to keep busy."

Amelie heard tapping on the other end of the phone. "Well... It'll be here when you get here."

"Merci." She didn't wait for a goodbye.

Amelie stopped the treadmill. Perhaps she could get more of a workout tomorrow. For now, she wanted to get back into the case. That rogue was out there somewhere.

She was back in the precinct another half an hour later. In her gym clothes, yes, but she didn't really care.

"Allen?" she spoke into the room as she entered. The man was half asleep at the desk, staring rather blankly at the computer screen.

"Oh. Hey, Lacroix." He blinked and gave a confused look at her outfit. "Sporty."

She shrugged. "I was at the gym."

"Ah." He took a deep breath and motioned to the computer, vacating the seat. "Have at it."

Amelie took his place and paged through the information he had compiled. It was a lot of numbers, but all seemed well organized. It read how long the camera looped, how long the looped section was, and a general analysis of the video captured on the laptop. At the bottom of it all, was a string of code.

"I compared how the system was supposed to be-- they didn't get custom settings for the building-- to how the system is in default. That's the only part that didn't fit."

"Oui. The woman I'm after uses this to alter the cameras to her advantage. Typically, she does not murder, but steal rather expensive art."

"It's a big jump."

Amelie shrugged. "I suppose every criminal reaches a limit." She examined the short string of code leaning her face on her hand, elbow on the desk.

Allen yawned, distracting her.

She glanced over. "You may go home if you'd like. I can handle this."

He attempted to blink the sleep from his eyes. "You... You sure? I can help."

She waved him off. "Oui. I will be fine."

Allen sighed and leaned against the wall. "To be honest, I'm just avoiding going home. My partner and I had an argument and... I'm hoping they aren't still mad at me." He sighed. "It's probably been long enough now."

Amelie glanced back at him, a sympathetic frown on her face. "Apologies stand for much in a fight."

"Speaking from experience?"

"Oui." She looked away, thinking of Gerard. "Communicate. It will help."

Allen took a deep breath before sighing. "Yeah. Yes... I probably should go home."

"You are asleep on your feet," she commented, turning her attention back to the computer. There was something... familiar about this code.

"Night, Lacroix."

"Au revoir."

With Allen gone, she put all her focus into the provided evidence.

Amelie had spent hours pouring over every bit of evidence that had been left behind by the art thief. She knew it better than her favourite novel. One thing she knew, without a doubt, were the lines of code in the systems. Each was recognizable as having the same origins, but none were the same to the other.

This one, however, felt familiar. As though she'd seen it a hundred times before.

Playing on the hunch, she pulled up the evidence already in the system on the woman she was hunting. It took a moment for them to appear, but she found the list within a few minutes. Something was off. She knew the number they had collected. This, she was sure, was one short.

This felt wrong.

Amelie tapped her finger nails on the desk, thinking. She had a list at home, untouched by anyone but herself. Perhaps she should compare to that one.

Searching the drawers around her, she eventually found what she was looking for: a flash drive. She plugged it in and transferred the file Allen had put together onto it. With that, she shut the computer down and headed for her car as fast as she could manage without others seeing her as rushed.

A glance at the clock showed her it was nearing midnight. It was past that when she arrived home, but she went for her laptop anyway. Any fatigue she had been feeling had disappeared-- she was certain something had been tampered with at the police station and she needed to find out.

Something felt off and she needed answers.

The laptop seemed to start up slower than ever, but she had her own list up within a few minutes. It was one longer than the one at the precinct. The extra matched perfectly with the one pulled from the security system in Gabbart's building.

Amelie was livid.

Someone had tampered with evidence. Someone had changed the coding of the security system and planted the duplicate there. Or someone had added it in as an after thought at the police station, deleting the original so the blame would be directed as they needed.

Her blood ran cold.

The thief was being framed.

A long and harsh string of swear words left her mouth in every language she knew and some she didn't.

If Amelie wanted to catch the murder, she would need access to the thief. Without that, she might never find the connections to the murderer, might never know who wanted to frame the woman.

She could either try to take down the thief, or she could make a deal and take down a murderer.

If she could even contact the rogue.

Amelie paced around her living room, swearing again. She needed help, advice, someone to talk to. She needed Gabe.

She grabbed her phone and hit her speed dial. It rang. And rang. And rang.

Finally, an answer, but it wasn't Gabe.

"Hello?" came a tired voice.

This made Amelie pause. "Ah. Jack?"

"Yeah. Amelie?"

"Oui. May I speak to Gabriel?"

"I mean... I'll try to wake him."

Ah. Right. It was past midnight. Amelie had forgotten.

She heard Jack speaking away from the phone. After a few moments, a very groggy Gabe answered. "Why, pray tell, are you calling at... twelve forty-eight in the morning?"

"The thief did not murder Gabbart." She spat out some frantic French before returning to English. "Someone framed her. I... If we are to catch the murderer, I would need to speak to her. But if I want to catch the thief, she will go down for a murder I am certain she didn't commit."

_______________

On the other side of the phone call, Gabe was laying on his back in bed with Jack on his arm. He sat up, jarring Jack. "You... You think she was framed?"

Jack pushed himself up on his elbows and gave Gabe a curious look. Gabe hesitated but put it on speaker.

"Oui. Someone altered evidence and made it point at her. And, and... the casual capture of her on camera! We need to look into that, question the employee. She has only ever stolen art or money, never killed before. She has hurt herself in jobs more often than others!" She cut herself off with more curses. "As much as I despise saying it, it is more important to catch a murderer than a thief."

Gabe sighed. "So... You want to talk to the girl... to find out who might want to frame her?"

"Oui."

"I know you... _detest_ anyone who murders, but... Gabbart was a horrible man. Taking him off the streets was arguably a good thing."

"Je m'en fous." I don't care. "Though I dislike what she does, the thief only hurts the pockets of rich men. A murderer can hurt anyone."

Jack and Gabe shared a meaningful look. "I just wanted to make sure you're committed." He sighed. "Okay. In the morning, I'll help. I promise. I'll talk to who I can, see if I can't get you two in contact. But right now? I need sleep."

"Merci beaucoup." She sounded... not relieved, but a bit calmer. "And, ah... désolée. For waking you."

"It's alright. See you in the morning."

"Goodnight."

Gabe hung up.

Jack rubbed a hand down his face and flopped back on the bed. "Hey, sweetheart?"

"Yeah?"

"I think you're going to have to meet my crew tomorrow."

Gabe nodded and laid back down next to his boyfriend. "Jack..." he spoke in a foreboding tone. "If someone is framing her..."

"I know," the mastermind answered softly. "But it's better to address it in the morning."

"... Okay."

_______________

Amelie went to toss her phone down on the couch but reconsidered. She had her own contact in criminals. She didn't enjoy the option she had, but it was an option.

She dialed another number. This time, she didn't care it was late. She doubted who she needed to contact was asleep anyway.

The answer was almost immediate. "¿Quien es este? ¿Como va?" _Who is this? What's up?_

Amelie took a deep breath and responded. "I need you to help me get a message to someone."

A chuckle. "Ah, Arañita! Always a pleasure to hear from you."

Amelie couldn't help but scowl and hiss out: "Sombra."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wanted a longer chapter so I could get to the fun part! They should meet next chapter, if nothing changes.
> 
> Just imagine the look on her face when she realizes Gabe has been a lot closer to her quarry for a good while...


	8. The Meet-Up Job

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First off! Sorry for the wait on this one! Uncharted: Lost Legacy came out a couple weeks ago and my life was immediately overcome by the beauty of Nadine Ross and her great gf, Chloe Frazer. In two weeks, I've posted 6 oneshots for them. That's one more than my 6 months of Overwatch.....
> 
> Anyway! This one is a little longer, to make up for the wait.

"Can I have my arm back yet?" Jesse asked.

Hana shook her head. On the table before her was Jesse's prosthetic. It was well made and rather advanced. She had it hooked up to her laptop and was monitoring its reactions to different stimuli. "It's just a checkup. Why don't you, IDK, clean the connection while you wait?"

He frowned. "Fine... That always feels weird though." He looked down at his amputation. Where it cut off was now the metal connection joint that the prosthetic latched on to. The connection gave him control and some amount of muted feeling in the limb. Cleaning it, though, made him feel like he was reaching inside his skin.

"Too much gunk on the wires and your arm becomes a useless hunk of metal."

"I mean, I can still hit people with it." He shrugged. "Just with less finesse."

Hana huffed. "I'm not the one telling Satya if you break this because you didn't take care of it."

He rolled his eyes but nodded. "Yeah, yeah. Vaswani makes good prosthetics but she's one helluva scary woman."

Hana nodded and turned the prosthetic over. Using her computer to send the order, she had it bend its fingers. After examining the reaction, she glanced up at Jesse. He was staring at his removed hand, unfocused. It took him a moment, but he noticed the look.

"So do you think Lena would do it?" came the question.

"Do what?"

"Kill Gabbart."

Hana frowned. "What? No. She hates seeing blood. Makes her sick."

"You can kill someone without making it bloody."

"Jack said his throat was slit. Besides, you're the hitter. Not Lena."

Jesse shrugged and rubbed at the end of his amputation. "I was just curious. If he had walked in on her... he was a bad man. She's an attractive young woman..." He let her put two and two together.

"She'd tell us. IDK, she just would. And it wouldn't be a slit throat-- he'd have his head beat in or... Dunno. Choked. You know, from that move you taught her."

"Fair enough."

Hana sighed and unhooked the wires from the arm. "Even if she did, it's whatever. But I don't think so. It's just more trouble. That's how it's been." She motioned for his prosthetic connection. "But it's whatevs. Jack knows what to do. That's why we listen to him."

Jesse cringed as she reattached the wires. "Ah..."

"Wiggle your fingers." He did. "Any difference? Discomfort? Concerns?"

He made a fist and opened it again several times. "Feels... A little different. Faster, maybe. Fit as a fiddle, though."

"Good. That's what the new software was supposed to do."

He cracked the knuckles of his natural hand against the palm of his prosthetic. "Man, sometimes I feel bad for the people who go against me. Havin' a metal fist sometimes feels like cheatin'."

"Hits harder, that's for sure."

"Thanks for fixin' it up, sis."

"No sweat."

He continued flexing the appendage, inspecting the minuscule changes. Hana, however, had started messing with her laptop again. It was only a moment later when she stopped. "Oh. Jack sent a message out. We gotta head to his place."

"Again?"

"He didn't say why. You're driving."

"You're darn right I am. We can grab Lena and Lúcio on the way."

"Perks of them living downstairs."

They headed that way, McCree still fidgeting with his arm. They didn't bother knocking. Lúcio was at his desk, messing with his music. He had a rather expensive dj set up that he liked to use as practice.

"Hey, Lúcio," Hana greeted. He didn't respond. "Hm. Damn headphones." She walked over to him and nudged his shoulder. "Lúúúcio."

He grinned and slipped a side of his headphones off. "Whassup?"

"Carpool to Jack's. Where's Lena?"

"Why're we heading back to Jack's? Thought he said to lay low."

Hana shrugged. "He sent a message out. I don't know more than that."

He shrugged. "Aight. She's in the spare room."

"Where the instruments of torture are?"

Lúcio snorted. "It's workout equipment. Gotta stay fit."

"I eat healthily. Everything else is just too much work." She shrugged.

"I'll grab Lena," Jesse spoke up. "Y'all get ready to go."

The cowboy headed down the hall. "Lena. We gotta head out."

"Whaddya mean?" came the response.

Jesse turned into the spare room to find Lena hanging upside down from one of the pieces of equipment. Her hands were folded behind her head and she was pulling herself into a horizontal position before dropping slowly back to hanging.

"Thought I--" she cut off with a grunt as she lifted herself up. "-- am supposed to stay all sub rosa like."

"Jack wants us there."

Lena gave him a curious look. Reaching down to the ground, she flipped back onto her feet and stood. "Well... Alright?"

"We don't know either."

_______________

Soon enough, the crew had reassembled in Jack's apartment.

Jack stood before them, but he didn't speak. The crew looked around at each other, feeling awkward.

"Uh... you there, Jack?" Jesse spoke up.

Jack frowned. It was followed by a sigh. "Team, I want to... well, I'd like to introduce you to someone. My boyfriend, actually. But--"

Lúcio cut him off. "Finally! Man, we've been waiting forever!"

"But," Jack said again, louder. "I need to tell you a few things first. And then you can decide if you want to meet him."

"Why wouldn't we want to?" Lena piped up.

Another frown settled on the older man's face.

"Well... he's an ex-cop."

"So are you," Hana commented.

"He didn't go into crime."

"What'd he go into?"

"Interpol."

Silence rang out in the room. It took a fair few seconds before it was broken.

"Y... You fucked an Interpol agent?" Jesse blurted out.

Jack sighed and let his head fall to his hands. "That's really not the point here."

"Does he know about us?" Lena asked in a quiet voice. She was frowning.

Jack hesitated, but only for a moment. "Not exactly."

"What do you mean "not exactly"?" Hana spat. "This is how we live. What are we gonna do if something happens and your man decides he'd rather put us behind bars?"

"Hana--" the older man started.

"I'm with her," Lena spoke up. "Jack... I trust you, but I don't know him. I like where I am right now. I don't want it messed up." She looked worried. "If I get grabbed, things don't just go wrong for me. I don't want to be the reason my brother goes down. I've been careful, but... I'm not letting that happen."

Lúcio spoke next. "She's right. He could bring everything we have down. Man, I send a lot of the money I get to my family back home."

Jack nodded. "I know. That's why I'm giving you the choice. But please, let me explain."

Lena had her arms crossed and was looking at her feet. Hana looked angry. Lúcio had a worried look on his face. Jesse was scowling.

"Fine," Hana spoke. "Talk."

Jack didn't waste time. "His name is Gabe Reyes. He--"

"He's her partner." It was Lena. "The bird who's after me? That's her partner."

"I know."

Lena scowled but went quiet again.

"He doesn't know your names. All he knows is that we take down men who prey on the weak. He's my contact who told me there was a lead on Lena." He sighed. "The thing is.. Lena's being framed for murder."

"What the fuck?" Hana let loose.

"Yeah." Jack took a deep breath. Lena was staring at him with a look mixed with hurt and confusion.

"What do you mean?" she asked in a whisper.

"All the evidence they have points to you. Down to a video of you in the building." He shook his head. "But there's something else."

"What? What else could there be?"

"She doesn't think it's you."

"Who?" Lena looked like she was about to cry.

"His partner. She called him and asked for help contacting you. I was there." He shrugged. "She sounded sincere. She wanted to get the actual murderer."

"Why does she think Lena's innocent?" Lúcio asked aloud.

"Whoever was trying to frame you messed up, I think. Or maybe she's been tracking you long enough to know what you do." Jack shook his head. "But she's trying to get in touch with you."

"So..." Jesse started. "You want us to meet your man... so your man's partner can meet Lena?"

"Yeah."

Jack looked around at his team. "Like I said. It's your choice. What do you guys say?"

Silence.

Hana was frowning. She didn't answer. She, Jesse, and Lúcio shared a look before looking to Lena. "We're going with Lena on this. She's the one with the real risk."

Lena felt a rush of affection for the three. But she frowned. "I dunno." She took a deep breath. "I mean. The gal has been after me for a while, yeah. But meeting her?"

Jack sighed. "You've already met her."

Lena flushed red. "The bar thing was different. I looked different then. This, this... Murder, Jack! This isn't buying a cop a drink, this is risking how I live!" She scowled and looked at the ground. She wanted to cry. "Fine," she decided. "We can meet him. I trust you, Jack, but... But Winston better not get any shit if this goes wrong."

After a deep intake of breath, he nodded. "Thank you, Lena. I promise I won't let this backfire."

No one answered him.  
_______________

Gabe felt more than awkward stepping into Jack's apartment. He could feel the tension in the air.

Jack motioned him towards the living room. "Let's get this over with."

Gabe still wasn't familiar with who each person was, but he recognized the thief right off the bat. She was curled up in a chair in the corner, not really paying attention. She looked... uneasy, at the very least. Seated at her feet was a dark-skinned man with tied back dreadlocks. He seemed worried and just as uneasy. Nearby was a slim woman of, if he was guessing right, Korean descent. She was openly glaring, but only glanced up at Gabe. The last was a man in a cowboy hat, fiddling with a rather complex looking prosthetic arm. He was focused on what he was doing, rather than showing any displeasure.

"Team," Jack spoke up. The thief glanced over, as did the man at her feet. The slim woman crossed her arms but turned her attention to him. The cowboy let go of his arm and studied Jack. "This is Gabe."

Gabe nodded to them, not sure how to present himself.

"Gabe, this is Lena." The thief dipped her head but turned away. "Lúcio."

"Hey," Lúcio mumbled.

"Hana."

She gave a rather sarcastic wave.

"And Jesse."

Jesse tipped his hat.

"Gotta be honest here, man." It was Lúcio. "We don't really feel... great, about working with Interpol. Or letting an agent know our names."

"I get it," Gabe admitted. "I do. But I have no intentions of betraying what I'm being trusted with here."

Hana rolled her eyes. "Just because you don't intend doesn't mean it won't happen."

"You're right. But I'm going to do everything I can to make sure this goes well. In your terms."

She pursed her lips and huffed, but didn't answer.

"You really think yer partner wants to help?" Jesse asked with narrowed eyes.

"I've known her for years. Longer than I've been with Jack." There was a subtle shift from Hana. "She wants to catch who killed Gabbart, and she knows it wasn't Lena."

"How?" Lena asked. Her voice was soft, and Gabe could definitely hear that accent. "I've never done more than bug her. I stole, I messed with her. Bloody flirted with her at a bar and let her know it was me!"

Gabe shrugged. "That's the thing. You only stole. You could've hurt her at that bar, right? But you didn't. I think she realized you wouldn't hurt someone."

Lena shook her head. "I don't get it."

"You're gonna bring her over?" Lúcio again.

"Yeah. If you four are comfortable with it."

"We're not, but it's more about what needs to be done."

Jack stepped a bit closer to Gabe. "When she gets here, we need to put our heads together. Find out who's been--"

"Oh fuck!"

Everyone stopped and looked at Hana.

She frowned and flushed red. "I forgot... Sa--" She eyed Gabe. "That friend of ours, in that well-known company. Who gave Jesse his new arm? She sent a message."

Jack raised an eyebrow. "And? You talk to her all the time, I thought."

Hana huffed and rolled her eyes. "No, this was for all of us to know. Not, not just us talking." She wrung her hands, still frowning. "She's heard some rumblings from old employees. About..." She gave Gabe another distrustful look. "Sodhi. He's disappeared, but not like people usually do. Where they sort of stay on the down low? He's just gone."

Gabe watched as they all grew tense.

"That's not good news," Lúcio mumbled.

After a long sigh, Jack rubbed a hand down his face. "It looks like we have a place to start."

"Sorry I didn't tell you sooner."

"It's fine. We're all still alive and we can make a plan."

Gabe tapped his foot, uneasy. He had questions, but he doubted he'd get answers. Instead, he gave the simplest. "Should I call her?"

Even Jack looked to Lena for the answer.

She shrugged. "Yeah, I guess."  
_______________

"So, chica. I'm out here. Now... what do you want?" Sombra rolled her shoulders, leaning back in the booth. "Salem wasn't really in my plans."

Amélie frowned and glanced away. She hated doing this. There shouldn't have been any reason to ask a criminal for help. Especially one like Sombra. She had unclear motives that Amelie couldn't figure out.

Chaotic neutral. That's what Sombra was.

"Hm. Then I suppose I must thank you." She was still scowling.

"That doesn't sound like thanking, but whatever." Sombra grinned. "So you want me to get a message to someone? I'll need details."

Amelie went to speak, only to silence herself as the waitress came over. Their drinks were refilled, Sombra placed an order, and Amelie thanked the waitress but declined. When the waitress walked away once more, Amelie answered. "There is a thief I need to get in contact with."

Sombra leaned on her hand and raised an eyebrow. "And? Arañita, I know more thieves than you've put away. I need more. What's their name?"

The agent hesitated. "I... Do not know her name."

A sigh. "Right. A woman then, but that only narrows it to half. What's she stolen? Does she have a signature?"

Amelie tapped her fingers on the counter, showing her unease. Rather than verbally answer, she pulled out a small notepad from her purse. She ripped out a piece of paper and proceeded to write several names down on it-- all of them those of famous art pieces: paintings, sculpture, and more. She handed the paper to Sombra. "Those are the most recent. The last... eight months, I believe."

Sombra eyed the list. Raised an eyebrow. Smirked. "Chido. I know who she is. What message do you need me to pass along?"

Amelie stared her down. "You are not going to tell me who she is?"

"No way. I'm not a narc." Sombra shrugged. "Besides. The crew she runs with is pretty nasty. Snitches get stitches, yeah?"

"You are not helping her case."

"What case?"

Amelie groaned and ran a hand down her face. "Tell me this," she started, looking back to Sombra. "Her and her... crew. Are they the type to murder?"

"¿Mande?" Pardon me? "No. Nasty as in ruthless. You don't wanna get in their way-- they won't kill you but they will take you down."

The agent averted her gaze and stared out the window, thinking. A moment later and she had made her decision. "The message. I need you to pass on an email address I will give you. And the message that she is being framed for murder and I, ugh... I need her help. She is the only connection we have right now."

Sombra laughed. "I'm sure she'll love that. Keep me up to date-- I want to know who's dumb enough to go after her like that. I'm sure the aftermath will be fun."

With a raised eyebrow and an annoyed look, Amelie crossed her arms. "What will this cost?"

A shrug from Sombra. "Dunno. Ask the waitress."

"You know what I mean."

"Hmph. You owe me a favor. Making a phone call isn't really--"

Amelie's phone went off.

"Speaking of phone calls..." The hacker motioned to it. "Go ahead. I can wait."

With a dramatic air, the cell phone was picked up and answered. "What is it, Gabriel? I am busy."

Sombra's face lit up. "It's Gabe? Let me say hi!" She made grabby hands at the phone.

Amelie pushed the hands away and listened to Gabe.

"This is important. Can you come to Jack's apartment? I'll text you an address."

"I... Oui, but I am a while out from the city."

Sombra made a face at her, before mouthing "let me say hi!" Amelie shook her head, scowling.

"How far? And... why?"

A frown. "I am... speaking to Sombra. To contact the thief."

Gabe hesitated. "Are you almost done? I promise this is important."

"Oui. I can leave soon."

The waitress brought Sombra's order over, was thanked, and Sombra went right back to silently begging for the phone. "Please, please please," she whispered, grinning.

"What is going on?" Amelie asked. "Why Jack's?"

"Please, please, I want to say hi! I haven't seen him in forever!"

"Tais-toi!"

Gabe was slow to answer and avoided her question. "Should I guess Sombra is with you right now?"

The agent made a disgusted noise. "Oui."

"Put her on the phone."

"Gabe--"

"Please."

With a scowl, Amelie jerked her arm out straight, holding the phone to the hacker. Sombra's face lit up. She snatched up the phone and spoke in quick Spanish to Gabe. Amelie followed along as best she could but some words were beyond her.

Most of it seemed like idle chatter-- Sombra seemed to be excited to hear from Gabe again, but Amelie couldn't tell if it was feigned or not. After a few lines of small talk, Sombra's expression became... enigmatic, at best. She looked to Amelie, a wry smile on her face, but continued to chat with Gabe. After another minute or so, Sombra answered whatever had been asked with an amused "si" and gave a goodbye. Rather than hand the phone back to Amelie, she hung it up.

"He says head to Jacks and he'll explain there."

Amelie rubbed her temples and slid out of the booth. "Fine. Here is the email address." She passed a slip of paper to her.

"As much as I enjoy your company, you should get going, mi arañita." Sombra winked.

The agent only sneered and turned away.

_______________

Lena sighed, staring dully out the window. She felt... bad. Just generically bad. Everything was hitting her at once: job had failed, framed for murder, and now she was going to willingly meet the woman who wanted to put her in jail. Lovely, just lovely.

Gabe and Jack had disappeared, probably outside, to talk where they couldn't be heard. Hana had donned headphones, spacing out. She was stressed, Lena could tell. Jesse was... asleep. Well, alright.

Lúcio moved to share the armchair with Lena. She shifted to lean against him.

"How're you feeling?"

She shrugged. She didn't really know how to respond to that. Maybe simple was better. "Bad. Worried."

He pulled her into a hug. "I get it. This is all pretty crazy."

Lena curled against him. "It's kinda... scary," she admitted. "Someone wants me to go down for it. Gabbart's death. And I would be, if that gal didn't somehow decide I didn't do it."

"Does that help?"

A shrug. "Dunno. It's nice that she knows I didn't do it. But it's kinda strange. Cause... that's like trustin' me, right?" She paused. "Trusting me in that I didn't do it. And that's when I mess with her!"

Lúcio chuckled. "What was that thing Jack mentioned? You meeting her at the bar?"

Lena blushed. "I, uh... Remember when my hair was blue? When we did that job in Chicago?"

"Yeah."

"I slipped off to one of the lady's bars they have. Recognized her right way. Have I ever mentioned she's lovely?" A sigh. "Couldn't resist buying her a drink. We chatted a bit. And I... pretended to leave her my number. But instead told her good luck catching me?"

Lúcio's face was expressionless as he processed the information. Half a second later, he was laughing his ass off. "Shit, really?" She nodded. "That is the funniest thing I've ever heard."

Lena smiled a bit. "Probably dumb though."

He shrugged. "So what? She didn't catch you."

"She musta told Gabe though. Who told Jack? It ended up there anyway. I didn't really mean for him to find out."

"He worries about us."

She frowned and looked away. "This whole thing is still scary, though."

"I get it. But we've got each other, right?"

She took a deep breath and nodded. "Yeah."

"Then we can make it." He kissed her forehead. "We've got this."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry they didn't meet this chapter, I felt like skipping to her showing up would be forced with Lena feeling shitty. But I can't avoid it for next time.
> 
> Thanks for reading!


	9. The First Crew Job

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry again for the wait-- Every since Blizzard rubbed their nasty little pizza hands all over my mains, I haven't been playing. But hey, I'll always be here for my girls.  
> Kudos to anyone who catches literally any of the many Lost Legacy references I intend to make from this point onward.

"She's outside," Hana spoke into the room.

Lena and Lucío looked to her, both frowning. "Tall gal with long hair?" Lena asked.

"Yeah."

Lucío pushed himself up and headed for the window. Just such a woman was standing with Gabe on the sidewalk. She seemed to feel rather at ease, speaking to Gabe. He, on the other hand, looked uneasy. He had his hands shoved in his pockets and a frown rested on his face.

"Doesn't he look excited?" Hana spoke, uninterested.

The new cop-- Amélie, Lena had said her name was-- had stepped back from Gabe.

"He's telling her," Lena mumbled.

Amélie had turned angry. She seemed to be yelling. In fact, they could almost hear her.

Lucío raised his eyebrows. "Is she yelling in French?"

Lena couldn't help but chuckle. "Yeah. She is French, after all." She flinched. The woman was yelling some rather... offensive things.

"What'd she say?" he asked. "French isn't in my repertoire."

She just shook her head. "I'd rather not say. Kinda rude." She hummed and bit her lip. "Are we sure this is a good idea? She's kinda scary."

Lucío put a hand on her shoulder. "Didn't you say earlier that she was... uh, lovely? Or something like that."

Lena shrugged. She was still frowning. "Don't matter how pretty she is. She's still absolutely terrifying. She's like a foot taller than me!"

The angry French outside had quieted down. They watched as Amélie glared at Gabe, cold as ice. She wasn't talking anymore. It seemed like Gabe was striving to save the situation and failing miserably. He tried to move closer to her, but she stepped back again. This... was not going to go well.

Lena fidgeted and bounced on the balls of her feet. "Gettin' kinda freaked out again," she admitted.

Lucío grabbed her hand and squeezed. "It's gonna be fine. Every thing'll work out."

She took a deep breath and let it out slow. "I think they're coming in."

Both Gabe and Amélie had disappeared, headed for the door, no doubt.

Lena squeezed Lucío's hand hard before letting go and falling back onto her chair. She wanted to disappear. She knew how to, but she wasn't about to leave her friends there. But god, did she want to leave. Maybe visit India. She'd only been there once. She'd heard there were some great sites to see if she knew where to look.

The front door was opening. Shit, shit, shit. Why was that so scary?

Gabe entered first, followed by Amélie. Where she'd once looked all sorts of pissed, she'd dropped into a sort of emotionless deadpan. Jack was there to greet her.

"Amélie, I'm sorry."

She didn't answer, but her eyes narrowed the slightest bit. She scanned the room, eyes landing on Lena almost instantly. There was no perceptible change in her expression.

Lena suddenly felt incredibly exposed. Amélie stared at her with an unreadable expression, studying every detail of her face. Again, she felt the desire to run, to jump out the window and make a break for it. She had other friends that would put her up for a few days before she could safely disappear for months. Maybe years.

Instead of following the impulse, she stood, took a deep breath and gave Amélie an uneasy smile. She extended a hand. "Nice to, uh, formally meet you. I'm Lena."

Amélie looked at the offered hand. It almost seemed like she wouldn't actually accept the offer, but she sighed and shook hands. "I believe you already know my name."

Lena nodded. "Not... not through any fault if Gabe's or Jack's. I swear. You've just... you've been after me for a while."

A frown settled on Amélie's face. Maybe that hadn't been the best thing to say.

"I have," came a short response. Her practically golden eyes looked up and down Lena once, causing the thief to blush a bit. "You seem no worse for wear, despite hurting yourself."

Lena nodded, trying to will her red cheeks back down to their normal hue. "Broke a few ribs," she admitted. "I'm all patched up now." She fidgeted a bit before gesturing to Lucío and Hana. "That's Lucío. 'Nd that's Hana. Jesse is the one asleep on the couch. Did... Did Gabe tell you much about us?"

Amélie's face became stony once more. "I did not let him say much. I know only that he believes your... crew to be beneficial."

Lena nodded. "We don't steal for ourselves often. We're usually helpin' people."

She gave a skeptical look.

"Honest!" Lena made some frantic hand gestures toward the others. "Uh, we, we helped a woman win her court case when the company was at fault and had played dirty because she didn't have money. Um--"

"Stopped a carpenter who did shotty work on the homes of poor families and eventually took their houses. And got most of the families their homes back," Lúcio spoke up.

"I've got a list of CEOs we took down," Hana added. "I'm not giving you evidence, though. That won't happen."

Amélie scowled again, glancing back to Gabe. He gave her a small nod. She sighed and turned back to Lena. "I am told you have been filled in on the situation?"

"The murder? Yeah."

She met Lena's eyes. "And you had nothing to do with it?" Her gaze was hard as stone and the slightest bit threatening.

Lúcio and Hana both stepped up to Lena, one on either side.

Lena took a deep breath and met the gaze. "I don't kill people. I'm a thief, not a hitter."

Amélie held her look for a few more seconds. "D'accord." Her jaw tensed. "I need a list of your enemies. Anyone who would have the ability to frame you in such a manner."

Lena made a face and looked at Hana. "Every other man who knows we took him down?"

"Sounds about right." Hana shrugged, palms to the ceiling. "But with what Sa-- Our company friend said, we should start with Sodhi."

Amélie's eyes narrowed. "Balakrishna Sodhi? From Vishkar?"

There was an answering silence that told her she was right.

Jack cleared his throat. "We won't be able to avoid it forever. Come on, team. Briefing time."

Jesse sat up and fixed his hat back on his head. He hadn't been asleep, apparently. Lena took her usual spot on the couch, Lúcio taking a spot beside her. To Lena's surprise, Amélie took the spot opposite him. Hana went for her tablet. Gabe had already moved to the loveseat, which Jack was leaning on the back of.

Hana huffed. "Do we really have to tell them this stuff?"

"That, or Lena goes to jail for murder."

She pursed her lips, but lit up the display. "Vishkar Industries. They exploited workers, practically enslaved innocent people, influenced laws passed in all areas they were active... All under Balakrishna Sodhi."

Lena wrung her hands. It'd been the biggest job they'd pulled off. She'd nearly gotten killed, Jesse had lost his arm, Hana had lost half her equipment. She could still remember having a gun only inches from her forehead, Lúcio beside her in a similar situation.

Hana avoided eye contact. "We all went through some serious shit to do it, but we took him down. Recently, he's vanished. Not in the killed off sense, but the purposely hiding his tracks sense. I doubt it's a coincidence that this whole murder thing happened at the same time."

She flicked an image up onto the screen. It was an image of Sodhi. He was of Indian decent, with a strong jaw and a slender pair of wire frame glasses. "The last time we saw him, he was getting dragged off by security." Hana grit her teeth and almost begrudgingly added, "Satya Vaswani took over. She's torn down just about everything bad about the damn place and is working to make it a beneficial company." She didn't want to bring up Satya's involvement. It was the very last thing she wanted.

"Lately," she went on. "There are rumblings. So I'd say if we have anyone to blame for the murder, it's Sodhi. Lena was at the top of his shit list-- followed by the rest of us."

Lena made a face. "You're not wrong."

Gabe raised an eyebrow. "What'd you do?"

She gave him a sheepish grin. "Thought I was gonna die, yeah? So I spat on him and called him a lot of names."

"Over-simplifying it," Lúcio spoke up. "You verbally castrated that man."

"He deserved it!" she responded. "His men had guns at our head! Jesse's arm was in shreds! He hit Satya!"

Amélie was quietly examining everything Hana had displayed on the screen. This was certainly a lead. Much more so than she really expected. There was more than just a case here-- this was the sort of thing that made careers. The former CEO had been a horrible man. She had known this before Hana's debrief. She had paid attention to the near global company being outed in such a manner. To be completely honest, she hadn't truly wondered how Sodhi had been found out. She'd always assumed he'd slipped up. Apparently not.

"What do you think, Lacroix?" Lena was speaking to her.

"About?" she asked tersely. "I was lost in thought."

"If this is the right direction. Finding out about Sodhi."

Amélie's expression was nearly unreadable once more. "If he's the only option, oui. But if he is not your only enemy, I lack the required information to decide."

Jack stood up straight and nodded. "Hana, you and I, and Amélie--" He hesitated. "If it's okay with you, Amelie-- are going to dig into some of our old cases. Sodhi seems most likely, but we need to be sure."

Amélie gave a slight nod, giving her consent.

Lena bounced a leg. "What about us? Any way we can help?"

Jack shook his head. "Not right now. Stay off the streets-- you specifically."

She groaned and sank further into the sofa. "Course I do."

He didn't give her any sympathy. "It's either that or risk getting spotted by cops-- ones that think you did it-- or risk that whoever caused it has people after you."

Lena just let out a more exaggerated groan.

"Why don't I head out and get us food?" Gabe suggested. "Lena can join me if she wants. No cop will question it."

Jack nodded. "I'm fine with that."

Lena narrowed her eyes, giving Gabe a long look. She was trying to decide if getting out and about was worth the risk of going with Gabe. She could practically hear Hana thinking. Glancing over, the woman's hands were tense on the tablet. Lena sighed and looked to Jack. "You trust him?"

"With my life."

"But do you trust him with ours?" Hana asked, rather loud.

_______________

Lena shoved her hands into her pockets. She was walking beside Gabe on the sidewalk, headed to who knew which fast food or take out place.

"I'm not familiar with the area," Gabe admitted. "Know where any good food is?"

"Well, what are you getting us?"

He shrugged. "Whatever is good. I'll take suggestions."

"We'll head left up here," she answered and motioned to the next intersection. "Good pizza place a few blocks away. We get from there often enough. Or should we try for Thai food? I dunno what your partner likes."

"She's not too picky. Anything works."

"Pizza it is."

They walked in silence for a block or so before Gabe sighed. "I don't know about the others, but Hana seems to hate me."

Lena just agreed. "Yup. You're a cop, Reyes. Hana had a hard enough time trusting us when we became a team. Don't know how long it was before I was on her good side-- course it was the same back then for me." She shrugged. "As long as you help us out, she'll get used to you. She just thinks you're gonna mess this whole thing up. Us, that is. Our crew."

"I wouldn't do that. I love Jack."

Lena huffed. "Yeah, but I can say I love anyone and you could take it with the same grain of salt we take yours with. We don't know you. Dunno if you'll be worth the risk. And besides Jack, we've all got family to look out for."

"Fair enough, I guess."

There was more quiet between them until Lena gave her own question.

"So, uh... What's up with Lacroix?" She was frowning. "She's kinda scary."

Gabe chuckled. "You aren't the first to think so."

"How'd she even decide I didn't do it? I thought she'd always have it out for me." The thief frowned. "Didn't she fly to London? Just to because she'd heard I'd be there?"

"And were you?"

"Well, yeah. For a bit. But then Jack needed my help for a job."

The agent hesitated just a bit. "You guys really trust his word on things?"

"Well, yeah. He's been there for us for years now. He's like... a father figure for me." She bounced up and down on the balls of her feet as they waited to cross the street. "Only one I got, y'know? And he's helped me a lot since I joined the crew."

They made it to the pizza place. Gabe was quick to order a couple large pizzas. Lena didn't pay attention to what kind, but she wasn't picky, as long as there were no black olives involved. They occupied a booth as they waited for the order to be filled.

"So, Lena... You seem pretty okay with me." Gabe was frowning. "Why?"

She took a deep breath and sighed. "I'm a pretty nice person. Wasn't always that way. But I am. And Jack says he trusts you. So, I'll give you a chance." She gave him a brief smile. "It's scary as all hell. But after meeting Lacroix like that? You're like... a puppy. She's like a _panther_."

Gabe broke into soft laughter. "Wow. That's one way to describe it."

"What? She is! All tall and threatening. Doesn't matter how pretty she is, feels like she could kill me with a glance." Lena worried her lower lip with her teeth. "I'll be walking on eggshells around her for this whole job, I think."

"She's not too bad, once you get to know her. Get on her good side and you'll have a friend for life."

The thief snorted. "Lemme guess-- her good side is a very exclusive club about the size, maybe, of an apple seed?"

"... You aren't wrong. Even I'm on thin ice."

Lena placed her elbows on the table and leaned her chin on her hands. "Then I feel like I have little chance of making my way onto it, yeah? I mean, I'm used to it with gals like her. But still."

Gabe chuckled and rubbed a hand down his forearm. "Speaking of that, by the way... How the hell did you pull off that bar thing? Jeez, I still give her crap for that."

She flushed red and bit her lip. "I can't believe how many people have asked me about that lately... Listen, I was a bit more impulsive back then. Lúcio's helping me on it. But I saw her and recognized her and... it was sooooo tempting, yeah?" She shook her head. "A chance to flirt with her _and_ mess with her? I had to. As for pulling it off? No bloody clue on that, mate. Spent the next few days jumpy as could be. Thought she'd round the corner and catch me at any second."

The agent was laughing again. "Damn. That's too good."

Lena's blush was getting worse by the second. "Oh, would you stop it? Feel like I should tell her sorry at this point. Dunno if it'd help my standing with her, but really..."

Despite his teasing, Gabe seemed okay. She could see why Jack liked him. He was fairly easy going and didn't take everything seriously. She'd definitely met worse men than him.

He settled a bit and gave her a grin. "Actually, that might help. Just make sure it's sincere. She'll see right through it otherwise." He hummed a bit. "If I'm honest, you probably have better standing with her right now. She's... not happy with me for the whole... dating the leader of your crew thing."

"As in... it being a crew of thieves and such? Or specifically because I'm on it?"

"Mostly the second one. She's been hot on your heels for a long time."

"Ooh. Uh... I'll guess she got really fired up after the bar thing?"

He nodded. "She doesn't like to fail."

"No one does, love."

Gabe nodded again and tapped his fingers on the table. "You aren't wrong."

One of the waiters brought over the pizzas they'd ordered. Gabe stood up. "Ready to head back? Maybe they've found something?"

"Sure." She grinned. "Maybe Jesse will stop texting every three minutes to make sure I'm okay once we get back."

Gabe could only chuckle in response.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guess who didn't originally intend for Gabe to have a chat with Lena? It's me.


End file.
